Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:cars, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Ian Fleming, Quick Read
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Commander Potts is an explorer and inventor, but he doesn’t have much money. He wants to buy his family a car, so he invents some amazing whistling candies and sells them. Then, his whole family picks out a broken down old car, which Commander Potts fixes up in his workshop. When they take a ride to the seaside to try it out, the car, christened Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has a few magical surprises up its, uh, radiator!
“Oho,” you say, “just like the movie!” Well, not exactly. No General Bomburst, no child-catcher, and Mr. Potts is already married. In fact, the book bears almost no resemblance to the movie. But give the book some credit, after all, it came first! (Am I here to review the book? Oh, yeah.) Anyway, I have only one problem with this book: It’s too short, and a bit too coincidental (okay, that was two problems). Lots of fun, absorbing, and it’s short (did I say that already?), so it only takes a couple hours to read.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Fiction, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Bears, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Michael Bond, Paddington
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Mr. and Mrs. Brown are at the Paddington train station when they spot a small bear with a hat and suitcase. He tells them that he’s a stowaway who lived on marmalade during his trip from South America, and the Browns decide to let the bear live with them. They name him Paddington and take him home with them. (After a sticky happening.) The book is full of Paddington’s adventures, most of them funny.
At some points I was a little confused as to whether something happened or not, and there are places where Paddington could have apologized, but he doesn’t. However, it’s a fun book and the start of a whole series. I like the part where Paddington goes to see a play.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Bears, Cats, Dogs, Donkeys, Elephants, Frogs, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Mark Twain, Out of Print
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This book is collection of several short stories by Mark Twain. The highlights include the title story, about a man who bets on a frog jumping race; and The Bad Little Boy, a cynical tale of a boy who is very bad, and yet has the best of luck.
If you like your humor a bit on the cynical side (I do), this one is for you. Otherwise, you’ll probably dislike these five stories. The link to Amazon is a different book, with several more stories in it. I don’t know what they are, but it was the only one I could find.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Fiction, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, E. B. White, Good Read Aloud, Insects, Pigs, Rats, Sad
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One morning Fern Arable, an eight year-old girl, learned her father was about to kill the runt of the new pig litter. She rushed to stop him and finally Mr. Arable agreed not to harm the pig. Mr. Arable gave the pig to Fern, and she eventually named him Wilbur. However, after a few weeks of happiness together, Mr. Arable told Fern that the pig would have to be sold. Wilbur was getting bigger, along with his appetite, and Mr. Arable wasn’t willing to feed the pig any longer. So Fern sorrowfully sold Wilbur to her Uncle Zuckerman’s farm nearby, where she could go and visit him. However, even with all Fern’s visits, Wilbur became lonely. But a spider named Charlotte was ready to be his friend and would also try to save him from being killed and made into bacon and ham.
A great book. For those who don’t like spiders, this book might help them feel a little more affectionate to the eight-legged insects. Maybe. No guarantees. And all readers should be prepared for a sad and perhaps unexpected part at the end. However, Templeton the rat is rather funny sometimes, and I really like the ending of this book.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Good Read Aloud, Horses, The Black Stallion, Walter Farley
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Alec Ramsey is returning from a visit with his Uncle Ralph when his ship stops at an Arabian port and a giant black stallion is put on board. Alec makes friends with the horse, whom he names “The Black.” Later, The Black saves Alec’s life (rather unwittingly) by pulling him to an island. After quite a long time, Alec and The Black are rescued and make it back to Flushing, Alec’s home. Alec finds lodging for his stallion at a neighbor’s barn. Henry Dailey, the owner of the barn, sees The Black’s potential as a race horse. And so Alec and Henry try to find a way to get The Black onto a racetrack with two of the greatest racing stars at the time…
An interesting book. The ending is rather predictable, but is still enjoyable. I find that The Black Stallion is one of the better books in the The Black Stallion series. I especially enjoy Tony, the Italian huckster.
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