Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back (Hardcover)
by Shel Silverstein
ISBN: 0060256753

Price: USD 11.55
105 used & new available from USD 1.16

Once upon a time there lived a young lion (later named Lafcadio) with a lot of other lions. One day, a band of hunters comes to the jungle. Lafcadio confronts a hunter and, after a hilarious turn of events, eats him up — including his red fur cap. The gun and bullets are too hard to eat, so he carries them back with him. He learns to use the gun and eventually becomes the best sharpshooter in the world. (Every time he needed more bullets, he went and ate another hunter.) A circus man comes to the jungle and offers Lafcadio a job. So the lion goes with the circus man to the big city — and most importantly, to taste a marshmallow!

An enjoyable book! Whatever your first impression was, this is not a horrid story about the Ferocious Man-Eating Lion. The eatings of hunters are not told in a grusome way and the lion in the city is rather funny. This book has an interesting ending. (I won’t say any more about that. Now you have to read it!) This is one of those long short books where it’s a little too long to be a picture book, but a fairly quick read. Relax in a chair (maybe some hot chocolate?) and enjoy the story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back.

Peter Pan in Scarlet (Hardcover)
by Geraldine McCaughrean
ISBN: 1416918086

Price: USD 13.49
113 used & new available from USD 0.10

Wendy and the Lost Boys, all grown up, begin having dreams about Neverland more and more. In fact, every time they dream about it, something from Neverland appears when they wake up. They eventually come to the conclusion that something is very, very wrong in Neverland. They must become young again and fly back to find Peter before it’s too late.

I’m not a huge fan of Peter Pan, but I don’t particularly dislike it either. I thought this, the first authorized sequel, was pretty good. Often, something would come up that seemed out of place, or unecessary, but it all fit together in the end.

The Marsh Lions: The Story of an African Pride (Hardcover)
by Brian Jackman, Jonathan Scott
ISBN: 0879234733

Price: —
18 used & new available from USD 1.98

A story of the Maasai Mara Reserve in Africa. The death of the pride’s biggest male sets in motion a long series of events that effect every part of the Reserve. Pride hierarchy changes, new males chase off the old, lionesses die, and cubs are born. Prides split or grow. The amount of available prey fluxuates. Everything from the hyenas and wild dogs, to the leopards and lions, live their lives in this world of change. Nefertari, the cheetah’s struggle to successfully raise a litter of cubs, the wild dogs of Aitong’s desperate fight against extinction, and the wildebeast migrations all play a part.

I feel that this book is a great example of how God made all nature to work together. It is out of print, unfortunately. It does not humanize the animals (thankfully) and when the writers don’t know a detail for sure, they tell you. It is a very true-to-life account, down to every detail, and you can learn a lot about African wildlife from it. I really enjoyed The Marsh Lions.

The Story of Helen Keller (Paperback)
by Lorena A. Hickok
ISBN: 0448055473

Price: —
15 used & new available from USD 0.95

Since two years old, Helen Keller had been blind and deaf. She could not speak, either. Her mother and father have tried several places, but it seems impossible that she will ever be let out of her unhearing, unseeing, and unspeaking world. Finally, Perkins Institution for the Blind sent a young woman — Miss Anne Sullivan. Will Miss Sullivan be able to help Helen? With discipline, love, trials, and break-throughs, this is the story of Helen Keller.

I like this book a lot. There are a few parts that may be startling or sad to some of you, but I don’t think I had much trouble at all the second time through. I’m not sure if I was upset or sad at those parts the first time I read it, because that was a long time ago. Helen Keller wrote an autobiography called The Story of My Life. I haven’t read it, but I think we own it. Well, The Story of Helen Keller is a great book! The summary may not sound very interesting, but please read this book! Lorena A. Hickok does a good job. Tired of me talking about how good this book is? Then please read it!

Mary Poppins in the Park (Odyssey Classics) (Paperback)
by P. L. Travers, P.L. Travers
ISBN: 0152017216

Price: USD 5.95
74 used & new available from USD 0.10

The fantastic adventures with Mary Poppins continues in this book with a story of the Swineherd and the Goosegirl, reuniting a hunter and his lion friend, dancing with shadows, a visit to a planet with talking cats, and much more.

The sweet and amiable Mary Poppins portrayed in the movie is very different from the strict and stern Mary Poppins in the book, but the books have many more adventures, and Michael and Jane are never sure whether they really happened or not. Mary Poppins never explains, of course.

Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Odyssey Classic) (Paperback)
by Henry Winterfeld
ISBN: 0152566147

Price: —
19 used & new available from USD 1.13

The Xanthos School is back with another adventure! The pupils, Julius, Publius, Flavius, Caius, Rufus, Muscius and Antonius give a slave, whose name is Udo, unable to speak or hear, to Xantippus for his “50th birthday.” Xantippus refuses, telling the boys to take the slave back to the slavedealer, Callon. When the boys get to Callon’s cottage, they find that Callon had sold all his slaves, except for one old slave that nobody would take, and fled! The old slave tells them that an ex-gladiator came and wanted Udo. When Callon told him that he didn’t have him anymore, the ex-gladiator said he was coming back the next day, and if Udo wasn’t there, he would kill him and all the slaves! After the boys leave the cottage, the ex-gladiator shows up and tries to take Udo, which the pupils manage to prevent. Then, Udo discloses that he can talk and hear! He is a slave of Pollino, the famous general! What’s going on? Is Udo to be trusted?

The sequel to Detectives in Togas, Mystery of the Roman Ransom is another enjoyable book.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) (Paperback)
by C. S. Lewis
ISBN: 0060764899

Price: USD 8.76
108 used & new available from USD 0.10

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are four English children who are sent to live with an old professor during World War II. When Lucy finds a world called Narnia, where animals can talk, in a magic wardrobe, nobody believes her. Then all four children hide in the wardrobe from the house’s grumpy mistress and find that Narnia is real. Now they must join Aslan, the son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea, to drive the White Witch from Narnia and put the rightful rulers on the throne.

This book is a favorite of mine. I like it as much when I read it now as I did when it was read to me. Narnia is something that never gets old, but as you get older you enjoy it even more. The characters and places are very real and well described. Once you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you will feel that you must read the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia.

Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue (Paperback)
by Maurice Sendak
ISBN: 0064432521

Price: USD 5.95
60 used & new available from USD 0.10

Pierre is a boy who doesn’t care about anything. What will it take to make him care?

This is a charming story. I put it under the category of Younger Readers, but even though I read much more advanced books, I still love Pierre.