Harry’s Mad (Paperback)
by Dick King-Smith
ISBN: 0679886885

Price: USD 5.50
53 used & new available from USD 0.10

Harry, an English boy, inherits a pet parrot from his American great-uncle. He quickly discovers that Madison (Mad for short) the parrot has been taught to carry on conversations by his great-uncle, who was a linguistic professor. Mad soon becomes one of the family, but when he gets kidnapped by a burglar, Mad must find a way to get back home.

This is your basic talking-animal-gets-kidnapped-and-has-to-return-home book, but it has two things going for it to set it apart. First, Dick King-Smith is a master of animal books and British humor (or should I say humour?), so Harry’s Mad is just plain fun in that regard. Second, the storyline of an American parrot being adopted by a British family has all sorts of fun with the differences between the two cultures. So while you won’t find anything too profound here, Harry’s Mad should do the trick of delighting young and old alike.

Flip (Paperback)
by Wesley Dennis
ISBN:

Price: $3.72
10 used & new available from USD 3.72

Flip is a happy little colt who enjoys life on a Kentucky farm. He can run, buck, and play, but he can never manage to jump the brook in the pasture. One day, Flip falls asleep and dreams he has wings. Jumping the brook should be easy now!

A very short, easy read with a humorous story and wonderful illustrations. It is simple enough for children just beginning to read and is enjoyable for more advanced readers as well. Since the early 1940′s, Flip has pleased many horse-loving youngsters and it is sure to gather even more fans.

The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit (Paperback)
by Carol Ryrie BRINK
ISBN:

Price: $4.95
12 used & new available from USD 4.95

Willie is the errand boy for Puddling Center, a town where all the people think much more of work than play. One day, a showman named Professor Petit comes to town with his five dogs. Willie and the Professor become good friends, and Willie is distressed to hear that Professor Petit’s show may go bankrupt. The cause of the trouble is another showman, Black Hoskins, who is taking all of the Professor’s business. Professor Petit doesn’t mind being beaten by an honest showman, but Black Hoskins seems to be doing everything in his power to shut down the Professor’s show, and Willie suspects that the competing showman is swindling the townsfolk as well.

The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit is a short, fun story. Some of the tricks done by the dogs seem a little unrealistic, however the rest of the book has plenty of charm to make up for that slight flaw. Younger and older readers will both find the story entertaining, and I highly recommend it.

Warton and the Traders (Paperback)
by Russell E. Erickson
ISBN: 0440494109

Price: $0.54
11 used & new available from USD 0.54

Warton sets off once again to visit his Aunt Toolia, this time to deliver some canned goods. On the way, he meets two woodrats and helps them escape from a wildcat. The woodrats tell Warton that they live in The Bogs and that the wildcat had been plaguing their colony for several days. When he arrives at his aunt’s house, Warton finds that Aunt Toolia has been missing for some time and, with the help of a whippoorwill, finds her in the the dangerous Bogs caring for an injured fawn. Knowing that two small toads cannot possibly cart enough food for such a large animal, Warton leaves to locate the colony of woodrats and enlist their help. But the woodrats insist that everything be a trade, and Warton has nothing to offer in return for their help in feeding the fawn—unless he can find some way to get rid of the wildcat.

Warton and the Traders is perfect for younger readers who want more than a short picture book, but it is written in a way that appeals to the older crowd as well. The story is well-told, amusing and has no objectionable material. Warton and the Traders is part of a series about Warton and Morton, the first being A Toad for Tuesday, with the others following in no particular order.

the little cow and the turtle (Hardcover)
by Meindert Dejong
ISBN:

Price: $2.45
16 used & new available from USD 2.45

The little cow is very curious and is always ready to investigate new things around the farm. She makes friends with picnicking children, a group of hoboes, and a man changing a tire. One day, the little cow discovers a snapping turtle that is moving to a new pond. The cow follows the turtle on its journey across a road, several fields, and the dangerous railroad track.

There really isn’t much to say about The Little Cow and the Turtle. It is a wonderful, simple story with no swashbuckling action and no tough decisions—just a curious little cow and a grumpy old turtle. This beautifully written, memorable tale has become one of my new favorites.

Sea Pup (Hardcover)
by Archie Binns
ISBN:

Price: $92.94
1 used & new available from USD 92.94

Clint Barlow goes on a sailing expedition one day and finds an orphaned harbor seal. Unwilling to just leave the animal and interested in all things having to do with the ocean, Clint takes the seal home and gains permission to keep it until it makes trouble. The seal, Buster, becomes a good friend to Clint, but soon becomes a nuisance when he steals milk from cows, “helps” fishermen with their catches, and scares a family who have never seen a seal, much less a tame one. Clint also finds that Buster is always in danger because almost everybody in the area considers seals as pests to be shot on sight. The Barlows try sending Buster to Alaska, only to have the seal return. Clint is torn between keeping his friend forever and finding a place where Buster will be safe from harm.

Sea Pup presents a fairly good take on the “adopt an orphaned wild animal” theme. There are times when Clint seems to act young for his age and, with his interest in science, there are some references to the evolutionary origin of seals. Thankfully, these do not dominate the story. The ending could have used some work, but on the whole the story is an enjoyable light read.

Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark (Paperback)
by Ann Mcgovern
ISBN: 0590447718

Price: USD 4.99
174 used & new available from USD 0.10

Ever since she was a child, Eugenie Clark wanted to swim with sharks. She spent hours in the aquarium watching the fish in fascination and dreaming of the day when she would be able to study them in the wild. And when she grew up, she got that chance.

This book chronicles Dr. Eugenie Clark’s life, albeit in a somewhat condensed form. Shark Lady was one of my favorite books when I was somewhere in the eight to ten years old range. It has lovely illustrations, and is told in an engaging manner without being too choppy or “watered down” for young kids.

Petunia (Hardcover)
by Roger Duvoisin
ISBN: 0394808657

Price: USD 16.99
112 used & new available from USD 0.10

One day, Petunia, the silly goose, finds a book lying on the ground. Petunia has heard the farmer say that those who own books and love them will be wise, so she keeps the book, believing that she will no longer be a silly goose. With her new-found wisdom, Petunia feels that she is qualified to give advice to the rest of the farm animals but, since she has never read the book, her advice has disastrous (and explosive) results.

Petunia is a silly story with a moral. Although the moral is a little too obvious, the rest of the book comes across well, is very enjoyable, and makes a good start to a small series featuring the silly goose.

Stuart Little (Paperback)
by E. B. White
ISBN: 0064400565

Price: USD 5.99
627 used & new available from USD 0.10

Of all strange things that have ever happened, a mouse being born into a human family is one of them. Perhaps Stuart wasn’t really a mouse, but he certainly looked like one, and he caused a fair amount of worry to his parents, who were forever fearful of losing him. An adventurous mouse at heart, Stuart did many exciting things such as sailing in a boat on Central Park Pond and climbing down the bathtub drain after his mother’s ring. One day a brown bird named Margalo came to stay with the family for a while, and she and Stuart became good friends. Imagine Stuart’s grief when, one morning, upon waking up, he discovered that Margalo had vanished. Determined to find her again, Stuart sets out to seek his fortune and his friend.

It’s interesting how much the camp is divided over this book. Some people love it, and others find it bizarre. I enjoy it, and find Stuart’s adventures to be very amusing. That’s pretty much what the book is: a collection of Stuart’s adventures with little or no reason to move from one to other except as they happen. Charming, in many respects, and witty in all the others.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Paperback)
by Diana Wynne Jones
ISBN: 0061478784

Price: USD 6.99
61 used & new available from USD 3.81

Sophie Hatter runs the hat shop in the town of Market Chipping. That is, she does until the spiteful Witch of the Waste casts a spell on her, turning Sophie into an old lady. This decidedly unlooked-for event leaves Sophie with few choices but to go and seek her fortune—which she does—and ends up as a cleaning lady in the moving castle of the disreputable wizard Howl (other occupants include the apprentice Michael and the fire demon Calcifer). Life there is far from simple, and Sophie is swept into adventures involving a missing prince, a dangerous contract, and an impending curse.

This is the first book I’ve read by Diana Wynne Jones, and for one thing, I greatly enjoyed all the references to the old fairytales (Brother Grimm and the like), such as Sophie being sure it would be useless to seek her fortune because she’s the eldest of three sisters. Sophie herself is quite a fun character, and her spunky attitude toward life makes her interactions with Howl all the more amusing. I must say, though, that the structure of the story was considerably more rambling than I’d expected. There are several plot threads running through it, some of which I failed to see the point of, until they tied up quickly at the end. Altogether, Howl’s Moving Castle is an enjoyable book, but it doesn’t go very far beyond entertaining.