Caldecott Winners - Drummer Hoff by Barbara Emberley, Ed Emberley (Illustrator)

Drummer Hoff by Barbara Emberley, Ed Emberley (Illustrator)

Summary: Drummer Hoff is a rhyming story about an army constructing a cannon.  The rhyme introduces each brightly, colored officer that contributes a part of the cannon until its completion. In the end Drummer Hoff fires off the cannon with a KAHBLABLOOM! Each page provides additional pieces and parts to the rhythm of the words that are aligned with the progression of the construction of the cannon.  The bright, multi-colored, wood-cut illustrations won this book the 1968 Caldecott Award.

My Perspective: This book is best known for its colorful characters and its rhythm and rhyme.  However, there may be a deeper message entwined.  When Drummer Hoff was written and illustrated the nation was involved in the Vietnam conflict.  There was ample protesting of the war, and it is believed that this story sends an anti-war message.  Drummer Hoff is based off an old English cumulative folk rhyme called “John Ball Shot Them All,” about a group of men building a gun (Horning, K.T., 2013).  Like the poem, this story builds upon the previous statement and ultimately, leads to the demise of everyone involved except for Drummer Hoff who shot it off.  Intertwined in the illustrations are some of the hazards of war:  Sergeant Chowder is missing a leg, and Captain Bammer is missing an eye. The book ends with the demise of the cannon rusting in a field of flowers.  Although the anti-war message is subtle, it is still evident.  In Horning’s Review (Horn Books, 2013) she feels that Emberley should not shrink away from its didactic intent with an anti-war message, but to embrace it, after all, he successfully incorporated an amazing picture book with a strong message. 

Library Application:

·       Drummer Hoff can be used at the elementary levels to teach children about rhyme in poetry. 

·       This book can be used with middle school and high school students in a discussion on how children’s literature can be been used for political messages.

References:

Emberley, B. (1967). Drummer Hoff. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Horning, K.T. (2013, July 1).  “Drummer Hoff and ‘Didactic Intent’.” The Horn Book. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2017, from http://www.hbook.com/2013/07/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/drummer-hoff-and-didactic-intent/