Crummel, Susan Stevens 1949-

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Crummel, Susan Stevens 1949-

Personal

Born March 3, 1949, in Pensacola, FL; daughter of Jack M. (a naval officer) and Frances (a homemaker) Stevens; married Richard M. Crummel (a high school principal), November 27, 1975; children: Christie, Jason, Courtney. Education: Texas Christian University, B.A. (mathematics), 1970, M.A. (secondary education), 1992. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Traveling.

Addresses

Home—Fort Worth, TX. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Author and teacher. Fort Worth Independent School District, Fort Worth, TX, math teacher, 1972-83; Forth Worth Country Day School, Fort Worth, math teacher and director of student activities, beginning 1983. Director of staff development/judge for Marching Auxiliaries of America for twenty years; advisor for Chi Omega chapter at Texas Christian University.

Member

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Texas Christian University Alumni Association, Chi Omega Alumni Association.

Awards, Honors

Texas Bluebonnet Award, Storytelling World Award, American Booksellers' Association Pick-of-the-Lists designation, and New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection, all for Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!; Notable Book selection, American Library Association, for And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon.

Writings

PICTURE BOOKS

(With sister, Janet Stevens) My Big Dog, illustrated by Stevens, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Janet Stevens) Shoe Town, illustrated by Stevens, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

(With Janet Stevens) Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!, illustrated by Stevens, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Tumbleweed Stew, illustrated by Janet Stevens, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2000.

(With Janet Stevens) And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, illustrated by Stevens, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.

(With Janet Stevens) Jackalope, illustrated by Stevens, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2003.

All in One Hour, illustrated by Dorothy Donohue, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Dorothy Donohue) City Dog, Country Dog: Adapted from an Aesop Fable, illustrated by Donohue, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Janet Stevens) Plaidypus Lost, illustrated by Stevens, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Janet Stevens) My Big Dog, Golden Books (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Janet Stevens) The Great Fuzz Frenzy, illustrated by Stevens, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2005.

Ten-Gallon Bart, illustrated by Dorothy Donohue, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2006.

Adaptations

Several books by Crummel have been adapted for video by Spoken Arts, including And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, 2002, and The Great Fuzz Frenzy, 2006.

Sidelights

Often working in collaboration with her sister, illustrator Janet Stevens, as well as with illustrator Dorothy Donohue, Susan Stevens Crummel is the author of a number of picture books for children that feature humorous and clever adaptations of classic nursery-rhyme characters and scenarios, among them Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!, And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, and Shoe Town. She has also created original stories such as Jackalope, My Big Dog, and The Great Fuzz Frenzy, all in collaboration with Stevens. Featuring a Western theme, Jackalope is a humorous tale narrated by a storytelling armadillo that finds a long-eared jackrabbit

frustrated that he is not the most feared of the desert's many creatures. Stevens and Crummel's "nutty plot, sympathetic characters, and handsome illustrations make for a roaring good time," Cris Riedel noted of the sisters' picture book in a School Library Journal review, while in Publishers Weekly a reviewer cited Jackalope for its "multilayered story line, kinetic art and a lot of sass."

In Crummel's first picture-book collaboration with Stevens, My Big Dog, a cranky puss bemoans the arrival of a new puppy in the house. The cat's success in learning to befriend the frisky newcomer results in a "sweet story of sharing that will appeal to cat and dog lovers alike," according to Booklist contributor Kathleen Squires. The jack rabbit and armadillo that star in Jackalope first make their appearance in Tumbleweed Stew, a trickster tale inspired by a well-known folk tale. In the book, Jack Rabbit offers to make farmer Armadillo some tumbleweed stew and then tricks Buzzard, Deer, and Skunk into contributing the vegetables that actually make the stew edible. "The funny text flows well and is full of repetition as the list of vegetables grows," remarked Melanie S. Wible in School Library Journal. Likewise, Gillian Engberg, writing in Booklist, praised the ease with which Crummel "offers plenty of opportunities for hidden vocabulary drills" within the story's "humor and whimsy."

In the award-winning Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! the great-grandson of the famous Little Red Hen mines his ancestor's cookbook in order to create a strawberry shortcake. With the help of friends Pig, Iguana, and Turtle, Rooster manages to make a huge mess in the kitchen, while Iguana attempts to measure flour with a measuring stick and Turtle outfits himself in a saucepan chef's hat. And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon takes its inspiration from the coauthors' curiosity as to where the Dish and Spoon actually went after they ran away, as well as whether they ever came back. Crummel's story, which opens with the traditional nursery rhyme, finds Cat, Dog, and Cow setting off on a picaresque adventure in search of the missing Dish and Spoon. On their journey they encounter Little Miss Muffet and the Big Bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, and Jack of beanstalk fame, each of whom contributes something to solving the mystery. Some critics cautioned that Crummel's tale assumes a familiarity with nursery rhymes and features a level of wordplay that will be appreciated more by early elementary-grade readers than a toddler audience. Nonetheless, "those sophisticated enough to get it will love it," declared Rosalyn Pierini in School Library Journal, while a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon that "kids will gobble this up."

The cast of characters from "Hey Diddle-Diddle" make a return appearance in Shoe Town, an easy reader in which the woman who lived in the shoe—she who had so many children she didn't know what to do!—is depicted as a mouse. As Crummel and Stevens' story begins, the woman's children have grown up and moved out, leaving her blissfully alone. Then along comes a stream of characters familiar to nursery-rhyme fans and, as the cow who jumped over the moon keeps track, each creature asks permission to move in to Mother Mouse's shoe. "The tale works well as a read-aloud or read-alone," concluded Sharon R. Pearce in a review of Shoe Town for School Library Journal.

Praised as an "endearing picture book" by Jennifer Mattson in Booklist, Plaidypus Lost describes a young girl's affection for a homemade stuffed toy that Grandma has fashioned from one of Grandpa's old flannel shirts. Problems arise when poor Plaidypus is repeatedly misplaced, overlooked, and left behind, at one point even winding up in a lake. Mattson cited Crummel and Stevens' text for its "memorable refrains and syncopated rhythms," while in Publishers Weekly a writer predicted that "any child who has claimed to be joined at the hip to a beloved toy will get a jolt of recognition" from the oversized picture book.

Crummel and Stevens "prove that there's a lot of mileage to be gained from a wacky premise and some roly-poly prairie dogs," announced a Publishers Weekly critic after taking a peak at the pages of The Great Fuzz Frenzy. When a fluorescent green tennis ball is dropped down a prairie dog's hole by Violet the dog, it unleashes a passion for faux fur: Big Bark, Pip Squeak, and the other resident rodents now squabble over bits of the ball's fuzz for use as a fur fashion accessory. Praising Stevens' watercolor illustrations, the Publishers Weekly writer described the story's setting as "an animated, earthy underworld" filled with characters exhibiting a "winning goofiness." "Only the Stevens sisters could create such an over-the-top tale about fuzz," concluded Booklist contributor Julie Cummins, the critic adding that the sisters' "fun-filled story demands to be read aloud."

In addition to working with her sister, Crummel has also collaborated on several books with illustrator Dorothy Donohue. Featuring Donohue's collage illustrations, Ten-Gallon Bart finds a small-town sheriff en-

couraged by Miss Kitty to save his small town from a tough old goat outlaw named Billy the Kid. City Dog, Country Dog: Adapted from an Aesop's Fable introduces two very different pups who become fast friends, despite their differences. In All in One Hour Crummel "rhymes her way through a spin on The House That Jack Built," noted a Publishers Weekly writer. Enhanced by Donohue's characteristic cut-paper collage art, the last-named book features a typical cat-chases-mouse storyline that escalates into an hour-long chase drawing in a dog, dogcatcher, bank robber, and ultimately the local police, resulting in what School Library Journal contributor Dona Ratterree dubbed a "lively cumulative tale." In a review of Ten-Gallon Bart for School Library Journal, JoAnn Jonas cited the author for creating a "playful" text in which "Crummel has captured the feel of the Old West." In Booklist, Carolyn Phelan wrote of the same book that Donohue's "detailed, three dimensional" illustrations are a good match for Crummel's "flavorful and often funny" romp.

Discussing her productive working relationship with Stevens, Crummel explained the roots of their successful collaboration in an interview with Mary Berry for Teacher Librarian. While the two sisters tossed about the idea of working together on a book project for several years, "it didn't become a reality until an emergency situation arose in 1997. She [Stevens] was asked to write and illustrate a story for a Harcourt school publication and the deadline was rapidly approaching. She knew what she wanted to draw—she just was stuck on how to word it. I became her voice, and in that week of brainstorming, writing and rewriting, we discovered that the collaboration was perfect. Her illustrations and my writing are a ‘fit’ because we share the same sense of humor." As Crummel once concluded to SATA: "Creating books with my sister, Janet Stevens, has been a hilarious adventure. We are laughing harder than the kids! But then again, that's what we are: kids pretending to be adults!"

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Book, September, 2000, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 88.

Booklist, January 1, 1999, Kathleen Squires, review of My Big Dog, p. 891; October 1, 2000, Gillian Engberg, review of Tumbleweed Stew, p. 351; April 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 1472; March 15, 2003, Kay Weisman, review of All in One Hour, p. 1330, and GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Jackalope, p. 1334; March 15, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Plaidypus Lost, p. 1311; September 1, 2005, Julie Cummins, review of The Great Fuzz Frenzy, p. 146; April 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Ten-Gallon Bart, p. 48.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June, 2004, Karen Coats, review of Plaidypus Lost, p. 438.

Horn Book, May, 1999, Lolly Robinson, review of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!, p. 324.

Instructor, September, 2001, Judy Freeman, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 26.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2003, review of All in One Hour, p. 202; April 1, 2003, review of Jackalope, p. 541; August 1, 2005, review of The Great Fuzz Frenzy, p. 859; February 15, 2006, review of Ten-Gallon Bart, p. 180.

Publishers Weekly, April 5, 1999, review of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!, p. 240; April 9, 2001, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 74; January 13, 2003, review of Jackalope, p. 60; January 27, 2003, review of All in One Hour, p. 258; February 9, 2004, review of Plaidypus Lost, p. 81; July 18, 2005, review of The Great Fuzz Frenzy, p. 204.

School Library Journal, January, 1999, Martha Topol, review of My Big Dog, p. 102; April, 1999, Lisa Dennis, review of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!, p. 110; May, 1999, Sharon R. Pearce, review of Shoe Town, p. 85; January, 2001, Melanie S. Wible, review of Tumbleweed Stew, p. 92; May, 2001, Rosalyn Pierini, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 136; May, 2003, Dona Ratterree, review of All in One Hour, p. 110; July, 2003, Cris Riedel, review of Jackalope, p. 108; May, 2004, Julie Roach, review of Plaidypus Lost, p. 125; June, 2004, Linda Staskus, review of City Dog, Country Dog: Adapted from an Aesop Fable, p. 106; September, 2005, Barbara Auerbach, review of And the Dish Ran away with the Spoon, p. 60; Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of The Great Fuzz Frenzy, p. 186; April, 2006, JoAnn Jonas, review of Ten-Gallon Bart, p. 98.