Entries Categorized as 'Review'

The Peterkin Papers

Our rating:***½

Younger Readers

The Peterkin Papers (New York Review Children’s Collection) (Hardcover)
by Lucretia P. Hale
ISBN: 1590172124

Price: USD 12.89
28 used & new available from USD 7.51

One day, Mrs. Peterkin discovers that she has put salt in her coffee by mistake. She can’t drink it this way, so her family consults several people in the hopes that one of them can fix the coffee. However, all of these people only make the coffee worse. Then one of the Peterkins remembers that there is a wise lady from Philadelphia in town who might be able to help.

This is only the first of many silly escapades in the The Peterkin Papers. The Peterkins also try to go for a drive, but the horse won’t move. They try to summon the telegraph boy and end up calling the fire department. Each chapter is a different story about the Peterkins’ mishaps. All of them are funny in varying degrees. The Peterkin Papers is just the book to enjoy when you feel the need for a good laugh.

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Giant John

Our rating:****

Picture Books Younger Readers

Giant John (Hardcover)
by Arnold Lobel
ISBN: 0805082956

Price: USD 11.53
1 used & new available from USD 11.53

Giant John and his mother have no food except two potato chips, so John goes off to get a job and make some money. What kind of job will he get? And what will happen when his friends the fairies want him to dance?

I was quite pleased to discover that Giant John is coming back into print. The story ends in a fun way that will leave everybody laughing at John’s attempts to help. Arnold Lobel’s pictures may be the best part, and I always get a kick out of the picture of John’s mother when he comes home at the end.

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The Sea Fairies

Our rating:****

All Ages

The Sea Fairies (Paperback)
by L. Frank Baum
ISBN: 0486401820

Price: USD 9.95
30 used & new available from USD 1.51

Trot and Cap’n Bill meet some mermaids who invite them to visit their palace underwater. Trot and Cap’n Bill accept the invitation and, after the mermaids give Trot the form of a mermaid and Cap’n Bill the form of a merman, they all go to the palace, where Trot and Cap’n Bill meet Queen Aquareine of the mermaids. But Zog the Magician captures the queen, Trot, Cap’n Bill, and Princess Clia, and it’s a battle of magic to see who will come out victorious.

As a warning, in my copy of this book a few little sections have the lines of text switched around, so you have to read it out of order so it makes sense. Zog is pretty sinister. The battles of magic in his castle are neat. Most of the book is more of Trot and Cap’n Bill visiting the ocean, but it picks up somewhat at the end with Zog.

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Will’s Quill

Our rating:****

Picture Books Younger Readers

Will’s Quill (Hardcover)
by Don Freeman
ISBN: 0670036862

Price: USD 13.25
30 used & new available from USD 2.89

Willoughby Waddle is a goose who lives in old England. One day, tired of doing the same things all the time, he decides to go to London. After having several bad, sometimes frightening, experiences, Willowby meets up with a kind man. Later that night, Willoughby is able to repay the man for his kindness in a way only a goose could.

Will’s Quill is a great book to enjoy on your own or to read aloud to someone else. I think that my favorite part has to be when Willoughby tries to “rescue” his friend. The results are quite funny. If you enjoy Will’s Quill, you should check out some of Don Freeman’s other books, several of which are still in print.

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Narnia: Prince Caspian – Movie Versus Book

Alright, everybody, hold on tight. I’m going to attempt to do a few things in this film review.

  • Dispel a few rumors and myths surrounding changes.
  • Bring hope to those who may have lost it because of all of the plot changes that we have heard about.
  • Tell what I liked that was in the book.
  • Nitpick at a few things that I disliked.

While I’m not going to give away the whole movie in any way, this review will contain spoilers, so stop reading now if you’d like to remain completely spoiler-free.

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