The New Kid on the Block

The New Kid on the Block
	; '
Released	October 20, 1993
Characters
Language	English
Pages	17
Previous	The Tortoise and the Hare
Next	Ruff's Bone

The New Kid on the Block is the fourth Living Books game based on the 1984 storybook written by Jack Prelutsky and was released on October 10, 1993. Instead of just one story, it was a collection of 17 poems. It is hosted by Jack Prelutsky as he voiced the cartoon counterpart of himself.

Poems[]

1. When Tillie Ate the Chili
2. My Baby Brother
3. The New Kid on the Block
4. My Dog, He Is an Ugly Dog
5. My Brother's Head Should Be Replaced
6. When Dracula Went to the Blood Bank
7. Forty Performing Bananas
8. Its Fangs Were Red
9. Mabel, Remarkable Mabel
10. I Spied My Shadow Slinking
11. I've Got an Incredible Headache
12. I Am Falling off a Mountain
13. Homework! Oh, Homework!
14. The Diatonic Dittymunch
15. Ounce and Bounce
16. My Sister Is a Sissy
17. The Bloders Are Exploding
18. Alligators are Unfreindly (on the main menu)

Titles[]

When Tillie ate the Chili (5) page 88
My Baby Brother (1) page 61
The New Kid on the Block (4) page 7
My Dog, He Is an Ugly Dog (6) page 62
My Brother's Head Should Be Replaced (1) page 101
When Dracula Went to the Blood Bank (1) page 114
40 Performing Bananas (4) page 147
Its Fangs Were Red (2) page 22
Mabel, Remarkable Mabel (4) page 21
I Spied My Shadow Slinking (2) page 72
I've Got an Incredible Headache (4) page 46
I Am Falling Off a Mountain (5) page 149
Homework! Oh, Homework! (6) page 54
The Diatonic Dittymunch (4) page 132
Ounce & Bounce (2) page 47
My Sister is a Sissy (4) page 138
The Bloders Are Exploding (3) page 37
Alligators Are Unfriendly (sung by Jack Prelutsky) page 14

Pages (Bold words are clickable surprises 1 2 or 3 word, Underline with Bold words are title.)

When Tillie Ate the Chili

1 .

When Tillie ate the chili,
she erupted from her seat,
she gulped the quart of water,
and fled screaming down the street,

2.

she coughed,
she wheezed,
she sputtered

3.

she ran totally amok,
she set a new world record
as she raced around the block.

4.

Tillie's mouth was full of fire,
Tillie's eyes were red with tears,
she was smoking from her nostrils,
she was steaming from her ears,

5.

she cooled off an hour later,
showing perfect self-control
as she said, "What tasty chili,
I should like another bowl."

My Baby Brother

My baby brother is so small,
he hasn't even learned to crawl
He's only been around a week,
and all he seems to do is bawl
and wiggle, sleep... and leak.

The New Kid on the Block

1.

There's a new kid on the block,
and boy, that kid is tough,
that new kid punches hard,
that new kid plays real rough,

2.

that new kid's big and strong,
with muscles everywhere,
that new kid tweaked my arm,
that new kid pulled my hair.

3.

That new kid likes to fight,
and picks on all the guys,
that new kid scares me some,
(that new kid's twice my size),

4.

that new kid stomped my toes,
that new kid swiped my ball,
that new kid's really bad,
I don't care for her at all.

My Dog, He Is an Ugly Dog

1.

My dog, he is an ugly dog,
he's put together wrong,
his legs are much too short for him,
his ears are much too long.

2.

My dog, he is a scruffy dog,
he's missing clumps of hair,
his face is quite ridiculous,
his tail is scarcely there.

3.

My dog, he is a dingy dog,
his fur is full of fleas,
he sometimes smells like dirty socks,
he sometimes smells like cheese.

4.

My dog, he is a noisy dog,
he's hardly ever still,
he barks at almost anything,
his voice is loud and shrill,

5.

My dog, he is a stupid dog,
his mind is slow and thick,
he's never learned to catch a ball,
he cannot fetch a stick.

6.

My dog, he is a greedy dog,
he eats enough for three,
his belly bulges to the ground,
he is the dog for me.

My Brother's Head Should Be Replaced

My brother's head should be replaced,
it's lighter than a feather,
he trying to use tomato paste
to paste tomatoes together.

When Dracula went to the Blood Bank

When Dracula went to the blood bank,
he thoroughly flustered the staff,
for rather than make a donation,
he drew out a pint and a half.

Forty Performing Bananas

1.

We're FORTY PERFORMING BANANAS,
in bright yellow slippery skins,
our features are rather appealing,
though we've neither shoulders nor chins.

2.

we cha-cha, fandango, and tango,
we kick and we skip and we hop,
while half of us belt out a ballad,
the rest of us spin like a top.

3.

We're FORTY PERFORMING BANANAS,
we mumbo, we samba, we waltz,
we dangle and swing from the ceiling,
then turn very slick somersaults,

4.

People drive here in bunches to see us,
our splits earn us worldly renown,
we're FORTY PERFORMING BANANAS,
come see us when you are in town.

It's Fangs Were Red

1.

Its fangs were red with bloody gore,
its eyes were red with menace,

2.

it battered down my bedroom door,
and burst across my bedroom floor,
and with a loud resounding roar
said,"ANYONE FOR TENNIS?"

Mabel, Remarkable Mable

1..

Oh, Mabel, remarkable Mabel,
your dining demeanor is queer,
you eat with your feet on the table,
while a teaspoon sticks out of your ear.

2.

Your mouth opens wide and then wider,
as you shovel six hamburgers in,
your elbows are dripping with cider,
there is mustard all over your chin.

3.

In your lap lies a lump of linguine,
your toes cling to slices of bread,
your knees balance pounds of zucchini,
there's a pudding on top of your head.

4.

Your nose is spread thickly with butter,
your shoulders hold pickles in brine.
Oh, Mabel, you may make me mutter,
but it's wonderful watching you dine.

I Spied My Shadow Slinking

1.

I spied my shadow slinking
up behind me in the night,
I issued it a challenge,
and we started in to fight.

2.

I wrestled with that shadow,
but it wasn't any fun,
I tried my very hardest-
all the same my shadow won.

I've Got an Incredible Headache

1.

I've got an incredible headache,
my temples are throbbing with pain,
it feels like a fright train with two locomotives
is chugging about in my brain.

2.

I'm sure I can't stand it much longer,
my skull's being squeezed in a vise,
as regiments march to the blaring of trumpets,
and thousands of tap-dancing mice.

3.

My head's filled with horrible noises,
there's a man mashing melons inside,
someone keeps drumming on bongos and plumbing,
as porpoise thrash in the tide.

4.

An elephant herd is stampeding,
a volcano is blowing its top,
and if I keep hitting my head with this hammer,
I doubt that my headache will stop.

I Am falling off a Mountain

1.

I am falling off a mountain,
I am plummeting through space,
you may see this does not please me
by the frown upon my face.

2.

As the ground keeps getting nearer,
it's a simple task to tell
that i've got a slight a dilemma,
that my day's not going well.

3.

My Velocity's increasing,
I am dropping like a stone,
I could do with some assistance,
is there someone I can phone?

4.

Though I'm unafraid of falling
I am Prompted to relate
that the landing has me worried,
and I don't have long to wait.

5.

I am running out of options,
there's just one thing left to try-
in the next eleven seconds,
I have got to learn to fly!

Homework! Oh, Homework!

1.

Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you
away in the sink,

2.

if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh homework!
You're giving me fits.

3.

I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,

4.

eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework
my teacher assigns.

5.

Homework! Oh, homework!
You're last on my list
I simply can't see
why you even exist,

6.

if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, Homework!
I hate you! You stink!

The Diatonic Dittymunch

1.

The Diatonic Dittymunch
plucked music from the air,
it swallowed scores of symphonies,
and still had space to spare,

2.

sonatas and cantatas
slithered sweetly down its throat,
it made ballads into salads,
and consumed them note by note.

3.

It ate marches and mazurkas,
it ate rhapsodies and reels,
minuets and tarantellas
were the staples of its meals,

4.

but the Diatonic Dittymunch
outdid itself one day,
it ate a three-act opera,
and loudly passed away.

Ounce and Bounce

1.

Bowen Ounce and Owen Bounce
fell off a speeding train,
both were rather fortunate,
and lived to fall again.

2.

Owen Bounce, who weighed an ounce,
was cushioned by soft shrubbery,
Bowen Ounce just bounced and bounced,
for he was round and rubbery.

My Sister Is a Sissy

1.

My sister is a sissy,
She's afraid of dogs and cats,
a toad can give her tantrums,
and she's terrified of rats,

2.

she screams at things with stingers,
things that buzz and things that crawl,
just a shadow of a spider
sends my sister up the wall.

3.

A lizard makes her shiver,
and a turtle makes her squirm,
she positively cringes
at the prospect of a worm,

4.

she's afraid of things with feathers,
she's afraid of things with fur,
she's scared of almost everything-
how come I'm scared of her?

The Bloders Are Exploding

1.

The Bloders are exploding,
they are bursting left and right,
like vials of nitroglycerine,
or sticks of dynamite.

2.

They are going up like rockets,
They are popping here and there,
the sky is filled with Bloders
detonating in the air.

3.

There's a simple explation
for this odd catastrophe,
you are bound to go to pieces
when you dine on TNT.

Characters[]

Jack Prelutsky
Tillie
It
Boy and Girl From My Sister is a Sissy
Boy and Girl from The New Kid on the Block
Baby From My Baby Brother
The Bloders From The Bloders are Exploding
Boy and his shadow from I Spied My Shadow Slinking
Diatonic Dittymunch from The Diantonic Dittymunch
Man from I've Got an Incredible headache
Boy from Homework! Oh Homework!
Dracula and Staff from When Dracula Went to the Blood Bank
40 performing bananas from 40 Performing Bananas
Boy from My Brother's Head Should be Replaced
Dog from My Dog He is an Ugly Dog
Boy from I am Falling Off a Mountain
Bowen Ounce and Owen Bounce from Ounce and Bounce

Songs[]

Alligators Are Unfriendly (Living Books theme)
We're 40 Performing Bananas

Buttons[]

Read to Me button: The poem is read to the user.
Let Me Play button: Takes the user to the poem and allows interaction after each stanza is read.

Trivia[]

The original book contains over 100+ poems, but this adaptation compressed that due to disk space and also time constraints.
- This adaption has a total of 18 poems, therefore the free storybook it came with had 18 selected poems, including "Alligators Are Unfriendly", which was included all the way at the end of the book. In the game, there were 17 poems in the story and the poem "Alligators Are Unfriendly" was used as the theme song for this Living Book on the main menu screen.
In this adaptation, while most of the illustrations as seen in the original book attempt to stay true to James Stevenson's art style as seen in the book, the rest of the illustrations that were not present in the original book were in the style of the Living Books Credits animations.
This is one of only two games in the series (the other being Dr. Seuss's ABC) where the text is interactive. However, unlike Dr. Seuss's ABC, the interaction that happens in the picture is very minimal, and the text plays almost all part in it here.
The "Read to Me" function is done differently here than in the other games - instead of just reading every poem from start to finish of the entire book, it reads one poem through, then stops to give you the option of reading it again or proceeding to the next.
- When you play the game in the ScummVM emulator, there is a glitch with "Read to Me" mode that causes clicking on "Read Again" (the left arrow button) to drag you over to the previous poem.
This is the first Living Books game for several things:
- The first Living Book to use smoother illustrations instead of pixelated line art.
- The first Living Book to have a different main menu system, such as placing the page selection thing on the main menu (due to it being a collection of poems) and placing the "Credits" and "Previews" buttons on the Quit page.
  - The menu system-revamping thing will happen again in D.W. the Picky Eater, but completely different from any other Living Books game.
- The first monolingual Living Book. This is possibly because of either disk space, Jack Prelutsky's works never had foreign-language versions, or the producers couldn't figure out a way to keep the rhyming flow of the poems intact.
- The first Living Book to not have a “The End” screen, since it is a collection of poems. Other books that don’t have a “The End” screen include Stellaluna, The Cat in the Hat and D.W. the Picky Eater.
- The first Living Book to not introduce any new credits animations, with the entire credits sequence in turn reusing the Programmer and Music animations from the first two games.
- The first Living Book whose preview wasn't made for the first three games. Since this game here is just a collection of poems and wouldn't be worthing making a preview for, The Tortoise and the Hare instead contains previews for Ruff's Bone, Arthur's Birthday and Harry and the Haunted House.
- This is the first Living Book (not counting The Tortoise and the Hare) whose demo version uses another page rather than the first; in this case, it uses the poem "I Spied My Shadow Slinking."
You leave the book when Jack says, "Well, all right. Goodbye!" (if "Yes" is chosen), but you might want to keep playing when he says "Okay" (if "No" is chosen). This is also the last Living Book to feature two generic kids as "No" or "Yes" answers.
This demo version can be featured in Dr. Seuss' ABC, The Berenstain Bears in the Dark, Green Eggs and Ham, Stellaluna, and Arthur's Reading Race.
The left arrow says "Read Again" and the right arrow says "Next Poem."
"She wheezed, she sputtered" was heard in high quality.
- The wheezing and sputtering sound effects were heard in low and high quality as well.
In When Dracula Went to the Blood Bank, the sounds were heard from Arthur's Teacher Trouble (with dots in gray and blue) and Harry and the Haunted House (with skins in brown, white, and green).
Like The Tortoise and the Hare, the V1.0 version of the game includes the same preview for Ruff's Bone, as well as the two previews for Arthur's Birthday, and Harry and the Haunted House (the latter two which are only accessible if you drag all the game files onto the Desktop and edit the outline file). It is the last game in the series to include previews for any upcoming Living Books games.
- Once again, towards the end of the Ruff's Bone preview for V1.1, a line was changed from "Then get Broderbund's Living Book called Ruff's Bone!" to "Then get Living Books called Ruff's Bone!" due to the Living Books series turning into a joint venture with Random House.
Like the first two games, this one originally had a slow fading engine in V1.0.
- V1.1 gave the game an electric engine upgrade; the fading is faster on the Windows version, there is a loading cursor into the form of a running man.
When running this game on the ScummVM emulator, there is a glitch on the Quit page that causes the Credits and Previews buttons to not work when you click on them.
This, The Tortoise and the Hare, Just Grandma and Me, and Harry and the Haunted House were featured in a Czech magazine advertisement for Living Books. However, none of the Living Books games have been released in the Czech Republic.
This was once one of the most elusive out-of-print titles in the Living Books series to find on any auction site, until it was re-released for the iOS as part of the Wanderful Interactive Storybooks line in 2014.
One of two Living Books to not have any running gags along with the original version of Just Grandma and Me.
This Living Book is unique in that the main character happens to be a real person, instead of a fictional character. In this case, it was Jack Prelutsky. This was due to this Living Book being presented as an anthology computer game.

Voice Talent[]

Narrator - Jack Prelutsky
Poems read by: Don Albrecht, Sheila Gordon, Natalie Beyl-Leahy, Sara Ludlow, Spoonman, Aaron Schlicting and Jane Scolieri