Entries Categorized as 'Fiction'
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Funny, Horses, Mark Twain, Westerns
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Soldier Boy, Buffalo Bill’s horse, is one of the finest scout horses in the west. When an orphan named Catherine comes to stay with General Alison, Kathy becomes good friends with everyone at the garrison, including Buffalo Bill who allows her to ride Soldier Boy. After a period of time, Kathy, General Alison, and some others return to Spain (Kathy’s home), and they take Soldier Boy with them. Unfortunately, Soldier Boy is stolen and eventually is killed in a bullfight.
This is reminiscent of A Dog’s Tale in that the hero of the story, Soldier Boy, dies. However, it takes it a step further because Kathy dies too! There are some funny parts, particularly one in which Soldier Boy and another horse discuss what makes something a reptile — “That any plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hadn’t wings and was uncertain was a reptile.”
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Robert McCloskey, Skunks
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In the small town of Centerburg, Homer Price has six adventures with the rest of the residents of the town. Plenty of great stories, like shop-sitting for his uncle when the doughnut machine won’t stop, and catching a bunch of dangerous robbers.
Loads of fun! You’ll be rolling on the floor by the end of each chapter. If you enjoy this one, try Centerburg Tales, which contains the further adventures of Homer and the residents of Centerburg.
Posted by Becca
Categories: Fiction, Picture Books, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Clyde Robert Bulla, Easy Read, Good Read Aloud, Out of Print, Quick Read
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Torr, a young boy, has been abandoned at a miller’s house because his mother can no longer care for him. The miller and his wife adopt the him readily, thinking that Torr will be useful around the mill later in his life. One night, however, the miller and his wife wake up to the sound of Torr singing outside. After being reprimanded for singing in the middle of the night, and maybe waking up the entire village, Torr goes out into the woods to sing. His fame as a singer spreads and he ends up at the queen’s palace. But he cannot sing in her presence, so he is sent back to the village. Torr is driven out of the village, too, and forced to wander.
This is a rather nice story, as Clyde Robert Bulla’s usually are. It’s a little longer than some picture books, but it’s still short. I enjoyed this story very much.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Cats, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Lewis Carroll, Lizards, Pigs, Rabbits, Turtles
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A young girl named Alice sees a mysterious white rabbit one day and follows it through a rabbit burrow into a magical and somewhat strange land. Cakes and drinks that change her size, a Hatter and a March Hare, a baby that is literally a pig, and conversations with walking packs of cards confront Alice as she makes her way through Wonderland.
The cards are quite fun. They play a game of croquet with Alice using flamingoes and hedgehogs as mallet and ball! I found the court scene amusing. This is a sort of book that doesn’t really explain things. It’s a string of strange adventures, but still enjoyable. By the way, a pun with the Mock Turtle struck me as funny. I found this book pretty good, and perhaps some day I will read the sequel, Through The Looking Glass.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, Keith Robertson
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Tim Cottrell enjoys riding his beautiful horse Whiskbroom cross-country, but he dreams of finding someone to ride with him. The feed man tells him about a supposed ghost horse and rider who have been sighted in the vicinity. But before Tim can try to track down the rider, his sister Leona introduces him to a girl named Kate, who loves horses, but says she won’t ride them. The two of them decide to start a riding stable and purchase a stubborn little donkey named Eloise. Once they discover how to keep Eloise from balking, they hire themselves out to give rides to children. During all this, Tim is still determined to catch the phantom rider. Then he discovers a beautiful Arabian mare named Gray Cloud. He’s sure that if Kate had a horse like that, she’d be willing to ride, so he attempts to buy the horse and discovers several secrets.
This is one of those books where the kids try to “gray over” things and rationalize their disobedience. I do appreciate the way the ghost horse and rider turn out. Eloise is rather cute, and Tim’s cross-country chasings of the phantom rider are fun. Any of you swash-buckling types who got your hopes up when I mentioned secrets, sit back in your chairs. They’re more ordinary and practical. For instance, why is Gray Cloud’s saddle dry when the caretaker claims he rides her daily? That sort of thing. That being said, it’s a fair book. I read it in one day.
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