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Zip Zap Wickety Wack - by Matthew Diffee (Hardcover) - 1 of 1

Zip Zap Wickety Wack - by Matthew Diffee (Hardcover)

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About this item

Highlights

  • New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee makes his children's book debut with this laugh-out-loud twist on the classic animal sound book.
  • 4-8 Years
  • 10.1" x 8.9" Hardcover
  • 48 Pages
  • Juvenile Fiction, Humorous Stories

Description



About the Book



"Farm animals share their sounds, but humorous drama ensues when the goat and the sheep both lay claim to "baa.""--



Book Synopsis



New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee makes his children's book debut with this laugh-out-loud twist on the classic animal sound book.

One of the Wall Street Journal's Best Books of the Year!
A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year

The cow says "moo." The horse says "neigh." Everyone can agree on these.

But when the sheep says "baa," the goat cuts in. The goat also says "baa." Now what? No one wants to share their sound!

The sheep has an idea--he'll just say something no one's ever said before: "zip zap wickety wack bing bang walla balla flip flap yackety yack." But an otherworldly visitor shows up to lay claim to this sound, too--and the alien doesn't want to share his identity either.

When the alien proposes a radical new way forward, the sheep and the goat find a compromise--and it may sound familiar to adult readers . . .

New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee's hilarious wit will be an immediate hit with young readers in his first picture book. Sure to inspire boisterous read-alouds and threaded with a sneaky message about sharing, Zip Zap Wickety Wack will inspire new nonsense and new values in homes, classrooms, and farmyards around the world.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection



Review Quotes




Delightfully deadpan entertainment.
--The New York Times

Mr. Diffee's artwork--all elegant, retro lines and jaunty patches of pastel--and wisecracking dialogue give these creamy pages a wonderful sense of buoyancy. . . . [A] humorous and humane read-aloud for children ages 4-8.
--The Wall Street Journal

Diffee, a New Yorker cartoonist, sets a deceptively bucolic scene for this preposterous showdown that makes for a raucous read-aloud.
--The Washington Post

Wax and pleasingly shaded colored pencil art on tawny pages features deftly expressive animals. . . . The characters' nonchalant rapport is well conveyed, with text rendered in a clean serif font of varying scale for added visual oomph.Clever humor and a fresh take on a seemingly familiar scene make this a widely appealing, expertly paced, and wonderfully silly read-aloud. Unexpected and delightfully absurd.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

An amusing kind of logic brings humor to the book's peaceful conclusion.
--Publishers Weekly

Diffee offers a book that will delight children and caregivers alike. . . .Working well as both a read-aloud and for one-to-one experiences, this purchase is for collections needing wry humor and a funny treat for all to enjoy.
--School Library Journal

The moral is delivered in a way that will make young readers think about the merits of sharing, rather than feel like they're getting a lecture. Zip Zap Wickety Wack is sure to quickly become a go-to title for any adults faced with kids struggling to share.
--Booklist

Lovely colored-pencil illustrations add warmth to Zip Zap Wickety Wack's wonderfully witty case for finding compromise. Never has a primer about farm animal sounds gone off the rails in such a delightfully engaging way.
--BookPage



About the Author



Matthew Diffee has been contributing cartoons to The New Yorker since 1999. His work has also appeared in Time, The Huffington Post, The Believer, and Texas Monthly. He is the editor of three volumes of The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw and Never Will See in The New Yorker, and has also worked as a freelance illustrator. Diffee is a recipient of the Silver Reuben Award for gag cartooning, and was recently named Chairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. He grew up in Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles.
Dimensions (Overall): 10.1 Inches (H) x 8.9 Inches (W) x .5 Inches (D)
Weight: 1.0 Pounds
Suggested Age: 4-8 Years
Number of Pages: 48
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Sub-Genre: Humorous Stories
Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Format: Hardcover
Author: Matthew Diffee
Language: English
Street Date: September 30, 2025
TCIN: 1001639173
UPC: 9780823458714
Item Number (DPCI): 247-36-6286
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.5 inches length x 8.9 inches width x 10.1 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1 pounds
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5.0 out of 5 stars with 1 reviews
100% would recommend
1 recommendations
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
10 July, 2026

Don’t Let it Get Your Goat

The sheep and the goat are really upset because both of them say, “baa.” All the other animals have their own sound: a dog barks, a cow moos, even a frog ribbits. Maybe one of them should get a new sound, and have it just for themselves. But when the goat tries, every sound he picks is already being used. When the sheep decides he will use, “zip zap wickety wack bing bang walla balla flip flap yackety yack wing ding dilly,” even that is taken. A space alien appears and states that is what he says but tells the goat and sheep they should wiffle, which is another word for sharing. When the frog and dog say they would like to wiffle the spaceship with the alien, he throws a tantrum and leaves. After witnessing that, the sheep and the goat agree they would like to share, “baa,” and not act like the alien. This is a great story with lots of humor, but the point of it all is taking turns and sharing is much better than anger and temper tantrums. This is a great way to talk with your child about sharing, and the good things that come from it. At the same time, you can point out the negative things that come from anger and temper tantrums. Humor, great illustrations (also done by the author) and a story children can relate to make this a good choice for sharing issues. Children three to nine-years-old will enjoy this five-star book. Thanks to Candlewick Press, for providing Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, “Zip Zap Wickety Wack,” by Matthew Diffee, for the purpose of review. Opinions are my own.
Tickmenot
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