Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Birds, Doctor Dolittle, Dogs, Fish, Funny, Hugh Lofting, Mice, Monkeys, Pigs
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This is the story of how Tommy Stubbins, the son of Jacob Stubbins, the shoemaker, first met the Doctor and became his assistant. Soon after Tommy begins to learn some animal language, a purple bird of paradise named Miranda arrives to tell Doctor Dolittle that Long Arrow, a great Indian naturalist, is missing. Doctor Dolittle decides to take a voyage, even though he won’t be able to meet Long Arrow. To decide where to go, they play a game called Blind Travel. They end up choosing the very spot that Long Arrow was last seen in, Spider Monkey Island. They set off at once with Bumpo, Crown Prince of the Jolliginki; Jip the dog; Polynesia the parrot and Chee-Chee the monkey and encounter some wonderful adventures.
There’s something about the Doctor Dolittle stories that I really like. They are so much fun. I left half the book out of the review, as it would take a really long review, not to mention give some of it away, if I told you all of the wonderful details. Some of the animals are great, and the Wiff-Waff is so funny, not to mention fun to say. “Wiff-Waff.” Anyway, I enjoyed this book a lot.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Advanced Readers, Incredibook!, Non Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Birds, Brian Jackman, Dogs, Elephants, Jonathan Scott, Lions, Out of Print
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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.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Birds, Dogs, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Hugh Lofting, Mice, Monkeys, Pigs, Rats, Seafaring
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Dr. Dolittle is the best doctor ever, but none of his patients will come because of his animal pets (think crocodiles!). Because of this, he can’t make any money. So his parrot teaches him how to speak to Jip, the dog. The doctor is eager to learn, and learns to talk to all his pets. All the animals hear about it, and come to him, and the house is crowded. Then a swallow comes with news of an epidemic among monkeys in Africa. Can Dr. Dolittle make it through storms, pirates and angry natives to help the monkeys?
Ah, Hugh Lofting has such a fun way of writing humorous, exciting stories. I didn’t even mention Gub-Gub, the food loving pig; Too-Too, the owl with a head for figures; or the cute little White Mouse who lives in the piano. Worth reading again and again.
Note: There has been a lot of controversy about Lofting’s books, because some people thought they were racist. Because of this, some newer editions don’t have portions that editors thought were offensive. I will say that I have read the originals, and found nothing wrong with them, merely a slight British patriotic spirit. If you want to read the originals, your library will be more likely to have them than the book store.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Birds, Cats, Crickets, Dogs, Funny, Garth Williams, George Selden, Good Read Aloud, Insects, Mice
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The Old Meadow is scheduled to be destroyed, and Chester Cricket has sent word to Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat in New York City. Tucker and Harry rush to Hedley, Connecticut. Chester wants Tucker to think of a plan to save the meadow, but what with Harry being adopted by a girl named Ellen, Tucker’s got his hands full.
I enjoyed Tucker’s Countryside a bit less than some of the others in this series, but it’s still very enjoyable and very fun.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Picture Books, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Birds, Dr. Seuss, Easy Read, Elephants, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Quick Read
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A lazy bird named Mazy is tired of sitting on her nest and trying to keep her egg warm, so when Horton the elephant comes along, she begs him to take care of her nest and egg. Horton finally agrees and Mazy flies off for a vacation at the beach. But Horton’s friends laugh at him, and hunters come and capture him and the tree with the nest with the egg. (And the green grass grows all around, all around, the green grass grows all around…) But Horton stays faithful, one hundred percent.
This is a great book. It’s humorous and rhyming. Please read this book!
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