Drummer Hoff facts for kids
 |
|
| Author | Barbara Emberley |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Ed Emberley |
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Prentice-Hall |
|
Publication date
|
1967 |
| ISBN | 0-671-66249-X |
| OCLC | 17300593 |
| 784.4/05 19 | |
| LC Class | PZ8.3.E515 Dr 1987 |
Drummer Hoff is the title and main character of a children's book by Barbara and Ed Emberley. Ed Emberley won the 1968 Caldecott Medal for the book's illustrations. Written by Barbara Emberley, it tells a cumulative tale of seven soldiers who build a cannon named "Sultan", and Drummer Hoff, who fires it off, with the book exploding into a blast of colors. The last picture shows the exploded cannon at a future point in time among wildflowers and birds. The illustrations evoke both 1960s psychedelica and Colonial American engravings. In 1969 it was transformed into an animated 6 minute theatrical short, directed by Gene Deitch and produced by Morton Schindel of Weston Woods Studios. It was released on DVD in 2008.
Characters (in order of appearance)
- Drummer Hoff; the king's drummer
- Private Parriage; the young private of Drummer Hoff who brought the carriage
- Corporal Farrell; the corporal who got the barrel
- Sergeant Chowder; the aging and crippled sergeant who got the powder
- Captain Bammer; the captain who got the rammer
- Major Scott; the major who got the shot (cannonball)
- General Border; the general horse rider who gave Drummer Hoff the order to fire
Each soldier's name rhymes with a step in the process of firing the gun, e.g. General Border gives the order, Sergeant Chowder brings the powder.
