Drummer Hoff is an illustrated 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, done in woodcuts, evoke both 1960s psychedelica and Colonial American engravings. In 1969, the book was adapted 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 stone-faced drummer Private Parriage; the young private of Drummer Hoff who brought the carriage Corporal Farrell; the mustached corporal who brought the barrel Sergeant Chowder; the aging sergeant with an artificial leg who brought the powder Captain Bammer; the Sea captain who brought the rammer Major Scott; the major who brought the shot (cannonball) General Border; the white-haired horse riding general 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. Interpretation Drummer Hoff has been described as an "ingenious picture book," one whose perfect simplicity may suggest some kind of "didactic intent." Ed Emberley denied that the book had any deep moral value to it: The book’s main theme is a simple one — a group of happy warriors build a cannon that goes “KAHBAHBLOOM.” But, there is more to find if you "read" the pictures. They show that men can fall in love with war and, imitating the birds, go to meet it dressed as if to meet their sweethearts. The pictures also show that men can return from war sometimes with medals, and sometimes with wooden legs...The book’s primary purpose is, as it should be, to entertain. According to the Online Computer Library Center, the book is "adapted from a folk verse." Ed Emberley explained that the book was adapted from the rhyme "John Ball Shot Them All," from the book The Annotated Mother Goose: Nursery Rhymes Old and New, Arranged and Explained, edited by William S. Baring-Gould and his wife Lucile "Ceil" Baring-Gould. The