The Adventures of Old Granny Fox

by Thornton W. Burgess

More than any other Burgess book I've read, this one is about relationships. Old Granny Fox and the young Reddy are having a tough time finding food in the winter. Reddy Fox is quite the know-it-all and even mocks the older fox when he doesn't understand what she's doing but Granny is remarkably patient and shows him that he still has a lot to learn. Reddy despairs that they can't find any food in the snow. Granny shows him how to perform for ducks and take the farm dog's dinner, but when they've exhausted every other means of getting food they resort to stealing hens. She makes quite a point out of the fact that the foxes only take the hens because they're starving so that's okay even though it's stealing; the humans have plenty of food so they can spare a few chickens. The raid on the chicken coop is a big event in the book; even here Reddy is overeager and Granny Fox must teach him to be patient, to wait until it's perfectly safe, to stay away afterwards so they have a chance to get hens again at a later date. However most of the story seemed to be about lessons on respecting your elders and having a willingness to learn. It even seems that things have finally sunk in for Reddy Fox; at one point he finds a fish to eat and even though he's starving he thinks of Granny Fox waiting at home, unable to hunt for herself and he takes the food back to her. It was a wonderful change of heart for him, this feisty little fox who usually only thinks of himself.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 202 pages, 1920

The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk

by Thornton W. Burgess

Jimmy Skunk is one of those animals in the forest who doesn't have many worries, as everyone is afraid of his terrible smell and goes out of their way to avoid bothering him. When Peter Rabbit finds the skunk sleeping in an old barrel, he thinks he's found a perfect opportunity to play a prank on Jimmy without anyone knowing who did it. Peter contrives to get the skunk in trouble with Reddy Fox, but finds the aftermath of his prank puts himself in a very uncomfortable situation. So he learns his lesson. And Jimmy makes a point of coming back to chastise Peter for instigating the trouble between him and the fox, when he finds out who was really responsible. The second half of the book tells of Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum getting themselves into the farmer's henhouse where they are annoyed to discover the eggs have already been gathered. So they end up squabbling with each other, and are caught when the farmer's boy comes in the morning to feed the chickens. Jimmy Skunk has no fear of the farmer's boy and just marches out of the henhouse when he opens the door; the possum plays his trick of being dead but the boy isn't fooled. The boy has been particularly good-natured towards the animals in these last few stories; here he simply lets the possum go after showing it off to both his hound dog and his mother.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 87 pages, 1918

The Adventures of Bobby Raccoon

by Thornton W. Burgess 

Another little Burgess book, which tells about some hard times for a raccoon. Bobby Coon is snoozing in his hole in a tree one day when disaster strikes and his home is destroyed. Not only that, but he gets injured and is terrified when the farmer's boy catches him and ties him down. The boy means no harm and is only treating his injuries but Bobby doesn't know that. He pines away while confined and is relieved to be released at last. Now homeless, he wanders around in search of a place to rest. He tries several times to appropriate other animals' homes, but of course is pushed out and must move on. Then he finds a hollow stump to sleep in, but his rest is rudely interrupted by some noisy crows and a visit from Buster Bear. Finally he finds a place that seems both dry, safe and unoccupied. He's dismayed at who his new neighbors are, though! What stood out in the book this time wasn't the little lessons on being fair and so forth, but the very nature of Bobby Coon. Whenever cornered or feeling threatened, he would growl and snarl and try his best to look fierce. I could just picture a real coon acting like that!

 Rating: 3/5 ........76 pages, 1918

From the Ground Up

by Amy Stewart

I think this is the first time ever that I've read a book immediately upon receiving it. I got a copy of this through Paperback Swap, and when it arrived starting thumbing through it curiously to see what it was like. But then instead of putting it on my TBR shelf where most books sit for weeks, months, even years, I set aside my current read to immerse myself in this one.

It was delightful. Amy Stewart tells about living in a small beachside town and growing her first garden, with all the discoveries that entails. Parts are about the weather, the neighbors, the summer influx of tourists. But mostly it's about the garden: how she learned to feed her soil, how she moved from just growing pretty flowers into vegetables, how she picked up ideas from touring estates with beautiful manicured gardens. I appreciate that gardeners seem unashamed of writing and telling the world about their mistakes, and really you can learn a lot from that. I've made many of the same ones she has, like not testing my soil (still guilty of that). She discusses composting (both the traditional kind and also with worms), design, battles with bugs, the contoversy of cats in the garden. Growing tomatoes, oranges and basil. The thrills of saving your own seed, and collecting seed from others. Her disinterest in houseplants until she discovered orchids. The satisfaction of eating your homegrown produce, and finally the delightful problem of having surplus vegetables on your hands when the garden is finally in full swing.

It was a wonderful read that made me feel guilty for not being fully invested in my garden this year- mine's rather shabby as I'm kept busy with a toddler just learning to walk. I just can't quite focus as much but Stewart reminded me of so much I want to do better with next year.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 261 pages, 2001

more opinions:
Stay At Home Bookworm
Who Needs Gauge
Life on Two Acres

Hyenas

by Gloria G. Schlaepfer

This juvenile non-fiction book about hyenas is a lot more detailed and fact-filled than the previous one. It doesn't create a narrative, but is just as easy to read. Geared towards older kids, I'd say. The book not only discusses hyenas' roles as scavengers, but also their social structure, how they raise their young, and threats to their survival (mostly due to people unreasonably fearing or hating them). In actuality, the book informs young readers, most hyenas hunt for themselves and only the smaller less abundant brown and striped hyenas are mainly scavengers. The aardwolf eats termites. I haven't seen many books that talk about the aardwolf; I don't think I was even aware they belong to the hyena family before. It was nice to see a very informative book that includes the less well-known species.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 48 pages, 2011

The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat

by Thornton W. Burgess

It completely escaped my attention that I hadn't written about this book, which I read some weeks if not months ago, until I searched for my post to link to from Paddy the Beaver, and couldn't find it! So I'm amending that omission now.

This little book has two main storylines, both featuring Jerry Muskrat. In the first part, Jerry gets his tail pinched in a trap the farmer's boy left near the pond. His mother had warned him about traps, but he was careless. Soon the animals discover many traps and Grandfather Frog teaches them how to find the traps and avoid or spring them so they can stay safe (which greatly puzzles the farmer's boy). They are all duly warned not to take food they find lying around where it usually isn't, especially very delicious food, as it is often a trap. Some of them have to get hurt before they really learn to be cautious.

In the second half of the book, the animals discover that the pool of water that makes their home is shrinking. Alarmed, several of them set off on a journey upstream to find out what the trouble is. Among them is Spotty the Turtle, and here the tale echoes the old Aesop's fable of the tortise and the hare. The other animals get distracted along the journey and stop for one reason or another, but Spotty just keeps plodding along so even though he's the slowest, he is the first to reach the source of trouble and find out what it is.

Now the animals meet Paddy the Beaver and they are all intimidated his great size and the massive dam he's built. They want Jerry Muskrat to talk to Paddy about the problems he's causing; they figure the beaver might listen to Jerry since he's Paddy's little cousin. Jerry is nervous at first, but he gets his courage up to approach Paddy and finds that the beaver is a nice guy after all. A solution to the problem is found, but it's quite different to the one presented in another book about Paddy the Beaver!

Rating: 3/5 ........ 90 pages, 1914

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver

by Thornton W. Burgess

Paddy the Beaver, whom I've met in another Burgess storybook, The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat, is a newcomer to the forest who keeps to himself. But all the other creatures soon know he's there and come to see him, as his activities influence them all. The first thing he does upon deciding to live in their forest is, of course, build a dam. Which reduces the spring to a trickle and the pond to a puddle and the other animals are understandably upset. Paddy assures the others that once his dam is finished, the stream and pond will fill with water again. And they do: when the pond is at the depth he wants, the water flows over it and runs down the brook again. The other creatures are satisfied and come to visit Paddy. Some are quite critical of his apparent destruction in cutting down trees; others of his building methods, until they see the finished product and are properly impressed. Paddy is a nice fellow. He keeps his opinions to himself, is always pleasant to others and even flatters the annoying blue jay who then proves himself to be a staunch friend instead of a pest like he is to most critters.

What took me aback was how the story differs from the scenario presented in Jerry Muskrat. In that story the stream had also died to a trickle, several animals traveled to its source to find the problem, and discovered Paddy building a dam. They complained about how he was ruining their homes downstream and so the beaver reconsidered, tore out his dam and moved somewhere else. As Burgess frequently makes mention of previous storylines in his books, linking them all together, again I'm not quite sure why this one is different. Did he want to change the beaver story, give it an alternate possibility? did he simply forget that the scenario was a little different before? Hm.

Like with all his other nature books for children, Burgess has infused this one with some good lessons. Here he makes a case for the merits of hard work, good planning, not making quick judgements on first impressions, trusting one's friends, teamwork and the wisdom of often keeping your opinions to yourself.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 180 pages, 1917 

The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo

by Sy Montgomery

A kangaroo that lives in trees? That's what I thought when I saw this book on display. I like the author as well, so of course I had to pick it up. Sy Montgomery was part of a team that accompanied researcher Lisa Dabek into the remote cloud forests of Papa New Guinea to study these arboreal marsupials. There are ten species of tree kangaroo, which do hop but are excellent climbers with long curved claws and thick prehensile tails. They are pretty muich unknown to science. Lisa's team was the first to safely capture some tree kangaroos (the local people used to eat them), radio-collar them and study their movements. The book describes in detail how the team was organized and all the hard (and often dirty) work they did that led up to the wondrous moment of locating their first kangaroo. The gorgeous photographs and descriptive text wonderfully evoke a very distinct place on earth (Papa New Guinea has about 400 bird species, 60 mammals and 6,000 kinds of plants found nowhere else on Earth- and new ones are still being discovered!)

Not only is this book a good adventure story about a faraway, incredibly unique place, and the discovery of an amazing animal, but it's also a great introduction for kids about the work that field science actually entails.

Borrowed from the public library. Now I'm looking for Sy Montgomery's book about the pink river dolphins!

Rating: 4/5 ........ 79 pages, 2006

more opinions:
 Jean Little Library
brooke dycus
Children's Literature Reviewed by Kathy Yale

Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

My computer was down for a few days so I have a backlog of book posts to catch up on, but I'll start with the most recent one, a book I gave up on: Lolita. I'd been wondering for a long time if I even wanted to try reading Lolita, because I knew well what it was about: a pedophile professing his twisted ardor for a preteen girl he forces to basically be his sex slave. The only thing that made me curious about this book was that all those bloggers (see a few below) profess that despite the distasteful subject matter, the story was so well-written and such a fascinating character study of this disgusting man Humbert that it made good reading.

For the most part, they were right. The writing is very rich. In spite of what you know is really going on between this older man in a fatherly role and the twelve-year-old he is abusing, the revolting bits are never stating explicitly, and in fact you might even miss them because they are so casually mentioned between pages and pages of rambling lists and descriptions. It's really rather frustrating to read, actually. I'd rather have known more about what was happening, or more about Lolita herself; the bare glimpses you get of her through Humbert's endless dronings on about how lovely she is or describing all the hotels they stopped at or all the cars they saw or all the landmarks they visited etc etc are so obscure you never really know what she's thinking or feeling about all this. One moment it seems she is actually flirting with the creep, the next she's sobbing and protesting. Overall she comes across as a spoiled brat (he's constantly buying her gifts to keep her compliant), mouthing off, talking back, acting like a regular teenager. He's constantly paranoid that she's going to run away, or ogling her friends, or worrying about how to keep his obsession a secret. The first part, about how he weaseled his way into her family and became her stepfather, was interesting but then it gradually just got so dull I couldn't stand it anymore. Not that I wanted more details of a particular sort, I just wanted more story. Of course I suppose this is just to give the reader a picture of what it's like inside a depraved mind, but it was boring. I really did try to finish, because I wanted to know what happened to Lolita. I quit actually reading the book around page 180, then did some skimming, enough to find out

SPOILER ALERT highlight if you want to read the next paragraph

that she ends up in the hospital and then later on is married and has her own kid, escaped from Humbert's clutches and still it appears, communicating with him begging for money, and so on while keeping her distance. Unfortunately I didn't care anymore, not even enough to try and read the pages in between to learn how she got to that final place, much less interested in the agonies Humbert was going through being apart from her or the mess his life was afterwards.

Bah. O well. I didn't finish it, and I don't care. If somebody ever writes a book about Lolita from the girl's point of view, I might be interested in that, but just barely.

This is the first Nabokov book I've attempted to read, and I'm afraid it might also be the last. In the back of the edition I borrowed was a list of all his other titles with brief descriptions, and not a single one caught my interest.

Borrowed from the library.

Abandoned ......... 317 pages, 1955

more opinions: Shelf Love
anyone else? (Edit 06/ 8/2020 I used to have more listed but those blogs are no longer online)

What Is Green?

a colors book

by Kate Endle

Lovely little colors book that has double-page spreads featuring familiar objects of each hue. Orange has a fox, pumpkin, carrot etc. Green a leaf, frog, lime slice, and so on. The pictures are made from little cut paper collages, with stripes on the page margins of more patterns in the same color. They're cute little figures. What really caught my eye though, was the matching book of animals I saw on the feature page on Amazon. Reviewers say the animal book has beautiful illustrations, so I'd like to see that one too but of course must just take my chances at the library.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 10 pages, 2010

more opinions:
What Adrienne Thinks About That

Dolphins on the Sand

by Jim Arnosky

Gently beautiful pictures and simple descriptions detail the plight of a group of dolphins stranded on a beach. Unable to swim back to the safety of deep water when the tide goes out, the dolphins lie helpless as dark falls. They are discovered by a kyaker who goes for help and then a team of people arrives. They keep the dolphins wet, move them to a safer location, ward off sharks who know the dolphins will be weak, and finally release them back into the ocean. The book makes it clear to young readers what work is involved in saving stranded dolphins, as well as pointing out that we don't know why dolphins strand themselves, with a few theories. The pictures are lovely, and alternate between bright pastel colors when all is well and more sombre hues when the dolphins are in trouble. The details are nice, too- lots of local flora and fauna are pictured, as well as small decorative panels with seashells, bird footprints in the sand, etc. A nice touch.

Rating: 4/5 32 pages, 2008

more opinions:
The World of Books

Hyenas

Animal Scavengers

by Sandra Markle

I browsed the J Non-fiction section of the library last week, in the nature section while my daughter was looking at books on outer space. Picked up a few about animals. This one tells about hyenas, particularly the brown hyena. In easy prose, it describes the daily life of one hyena as it searches for food and socializes with clan members, interspersing facts into the narrative. When the hyena bears a cub the story switches to follow the cub's growth and development until it is old enough to have its own offspring. All of which is illustrated with clear photographs- which is why I borrowed up the book, really. To do some sketching. I think this book is from the same series as the zebra one I read a few years back- a good solid series introducing kids to wildlife.

rating: 3/5 ........ 40 pages, 2005

World's End

The Sandman

by Neil Gaiman

A pair of co-workers driving late at night and things start to go strange. Snow starts falling- in June? Then something strange runs across the road, the driver veers aside and the car crashes. Struggling through the snowstorm with his injured passenger, quickly disorientated and lost. The two find haven in a large inn that is full of strange customers also waiting out the storm. Folk who look like elves and centaurs, as well as normal humans, but all hail from different worlds. Apparently the storm raging has affected reality, so they were all misdirected to this inn. To pass the time they tells stories, varied and curious. Some even have other stories contained within them.

There are stories of voyages and adventures, of misdeeds and politicking, of people who deal closely with death, and others who have the most ordinary humdrum lives (with little to tell). One is of a woman masquerading as a man. My favorite was the story of the dreaming city, even though I'm not really fond of cityscapes myself. The Sandman, or sometimes his sister Death, make the briefest of appearances on these pages. And I'm still puzzling about what the procession was they all viewed at the end- was it for Orpheus' death? I guess I might find out in the next volume...

Rating: 3/5 ........ 168 pages, 1994

Brief Lives

The Sandman

by Neil Gaiman

I quite liked this seventh volume of Sandman. Unlike many of the other volumes I've read, it doesn't have stand-alone stories but one continual narrative. Another plus is that it focuses on the character of Dream and his siblings, rather than having Dream as a minor (but often very key) character who comes in near the end of a story. The broad sweep of it is that Dream's younger sister Delirium has decided to seek out their brother Destruction, who abandoned his realm and went missing hundreds of years ago. First Delirium asks for help from Despair and Desire, then she approaches Dream. Rather unlike him, he agrees to go on a journey through the waking world to aid her search. But it turns out he has his own motives, and doesn't really want to find his brother at all. He gets tired of the search and wants to call it off; she gets upset and sulks; Dream is convinced to make amends, and when they finally do find Destruction he comes to terms with facing his son Orpheus as well....

Maybe most of that doesn't make sense, I fear. Well, what I liked about it was Delirium. I think she's my favorite character. She talks in a random half-steam-of-consciousness way and acts like a child bouncing from one idea to the next and it's charming rather than irritating (to me). You'd think this would make their search end prematurely but surprisingly she sticks to her goal and doesn't forget why they're searching. Quite often the things she says make connections that illuminate problems or solutions. There's a subtle mystery as to why all the people Dream and Delirium seek (their brother's friends) in their journey disappear or die before they can reach them- a fact that makes Dream want to abandon the whole endeavor. A lot of the themes in this book have to do with change, resisting or accepting it or adjusting to it.... I'm afraid I'm not making this very coherent, probably due to being tired. I'll just say again that liked it, better than the last few volumes. I liked the characters more than ever. Read some of the other reviews listed below for better analysis.

rating: 3/5 ......... 168 pages, 1992

more opinions:
Incurable Bluestocking
Mark Reads the Sandman 
University City Public Library Book Challenge

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Anna has won my leopard bookmarks! Anna, just email me (jeanenevarez -at- gmail-dot- com) your address and I'll send them off!

Red Boots

by Rosemary Wells

Cute little rhyming book about the baby bunny Max trying on his big sister's clothes. They don't fit, of course, and he puts things on in the wrong places- mittens on his ears, hat on his foot, etc- so when he tries to go play he just trips and falls down. The funny thing is that I know I've seen this same theme before in a different Max and Ruby book.  I'm more familiar with Max's New Suit. Not sure why the author made another version of basically the same story (and I thought the text in the original one simpler). This is the first time I've come across the "baby Max and Ruby" books, which is the familiar bunnies just in toddler form. We were quite fond of Max and his antics when little kids.  I remember my mom reading these to me.

rating: 2/5 ........ 12 pages, 2009

more opinions:
Kid Book Ratings

The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse

by Thornton W. Burgess

This little book focuses mostly on the efforts of a little mouse to simply survive. Danny certainly has many adventures and narrow escapes! As the book opens he is lamenting his short tail, but soon finds out that it's a benefit as a longer tail might make it easier for predators to grab him. He runs around under the snow to escape the foxes who try to break through and catch him. Then he narrowly misses getting eaten by an owl and escapes, injured, into Peter Rabbit's briar patch. Peter gives him refuge and soon Danny finds he can return the favor, for when Peter starts eating the bark of Farmer Brown's young peach trees, he gets caught in a snare. Peter manages to make it home in spite of his wounds and Danny helps him stay safe when Farmer Brown's boy tracks him down. The end of the book tells another short episode where Danny Meadow Mouse hides in a tin can from Reddy Fox and escapes yet again. Lessons on being content with what you have, not giving up in times of trouble, trusting your friends, having caution, avoiding greed and recognizing your talents are imbedded in this tale of animal life.

Read this one on my Kindle.

rating: 4/5 ......... 62 pages, 1915

Fables and Reflections

The Sandman

by Neil Gaiman

This is volume six. Morpheus and several of his siblings vie to claim the soul of a morose man. The Dream King assists a man everyone thinks is crazy to proclaim himself emperor of the United States. A Roman ruler sits on the pavement in the guise of a beggar for a day. A young Marco Polo gets lost in a sandy waste and meets two other men plus some ghosts (I think). Morpheus' grown son marries the beautiful Euridyce, but she tragically dies on the wedding day and the distraught Orpheus follows her into the underworld. In another story Morpheus' baby son Daniel visits the dreamworld during naptime and is told some wacky versions of bible stories by Eve, Cain and the raven Matthew (it was amusing to see a kid-version of the Dream King and his sister Death). My favorite of all the tales was the one where an old man tells his granddaughter a story of "the old country": a boy of the forest people comes into possession of some very valuable objects, and goes on a journey trying to find the beautiful woman featured on a necklace. The story of Orpheus and Euridyce- which spanned several chapters here- was somewhat familiar to me from mythology, and so was Baba Yaga who makes an appearance in the grandfather's tale. But other of the stories just did not make a connection with me, either I didn't understand their references or just found them dull. So again, my impression of a Gaiman book is muddled. I really only liked a few of them, and skipped several when they failed to hold my interest...

rating: 2/5 ........ 264 pages, 1993

more opinions:
Richardmbray 
Such a Book Nerd

Bambi's Children

by Felix Salten

This story follows Bambi, telling of how his children grew up while he reigned as the strongest and wisest stag in the forest. It isn't nearly as good. The storyline has some close similarities, but in this case it ends when the young deer are ready to leave their parents and become independent. The most interesting parts feel more or less repeated from the prior book- one of the young deer gets rescued by a gamekeeper; but in this case it tells first-hand of her experience while she's trapped and she doesn't experience the same awkwardness as Gobo did upon returning. Hunters are not as prevalent a danger as before, and this time the story is often told from the humans' viewpoint; we hear them talking and see their motives where before it was all presented from the animals' point of view with human activity more or less a mystery. Some humans are shown to be sympathetic to the animals, others wanton killers. The fox is a threat again, and a dog that runs loose from the village and starts savaging deer for amusement. The owl becomes a creature who spouts proverbs, which frequently confuse the other animals when they refer to things from human culture. The hare is more of a nervous wreck, the birds more quarrelsome.  Even the deer seem to engage in petty quarrels- the very opening scene of the book has Bambi's children arguing like petulant human siblings, with their mother Faline being chided by a bird for spoiling them. The trees talk sometimes, but what they say doesn't really add to anything. The descriptions of nature and seasons aren't as well-written. I did enjoy the story a little, enough to finish the book, but for the most part it seemed to be focused on misunderstandings between the deer families that resulted in them refusing to associate with each other, even when the children had forgotten the grievance and wanted to make amends the parents couldn't bring themselves to. The story ended when all was finally forgiven and that was a really unsatisfying climax. Disappointment.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 236 pages, 1939

bookmarks giveaway!

Some lovely leopards to accompany your next read

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yet again

I know I just did a post like this, but already I've found new books to add to the list and I want to make note of it every week so it doesn't get overwhelming again! Thus:

Wild Designs by Katie Fjord- The Captive Reader
Selkie Dreams by Kristin Gleeson- The Lost Entwife
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schiltz - Puss Reboots
Fly Away Peter by David Malouf- A Work in Progress
Laddertop by Orson Scott Card, Janice Card and Ibardolaza- At Home with Books
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater- You've GOTTA Read This! (I think this one is already on my list)

That's a lot more manageable!

Bambi

A Life in the Woods

by Felix Salten

This is one of my most favorite books ever. I read it many times in my childhood, but it's been years since I last visited its pages. I happened across a beautifully illustrated edition at the library and borrowed it (even though I have my own copy) to enjoy again with these new images. The paintings by Michael J. Woods really make the forest setting and animals come alive. They are so lifelike, and so expressive at the same time. I paged through the book several times after reading it, just to look at the pictures again. (click on images to view them larger)

Bambi tells the story of the life a deer leads in the forest. It begins with his birth and follows him through the unfolding of his understanding, from the first questions he asks his mother- reminiscent of any toddlers incessant why is the sky blue? but why? - to his playful explorations in the meadow to his youthful feelings of invulnerability. He soon learns that the forest isn't safe at all, often full of dangers. For some time the exact nature of danger is unclear as his mother is unwilling to speak of it and he speculates with his playmates what it could be. But soon enough he learns about the threat of man, who seems to be an inescapable and incomprehensible horror. This combined with the hardships of his first winter make Bambi realize that life is a very serious thing indeed.

In fact, a lot of the book deals with themes of facing mortality and the constant threats to life. Bambi sees plenty of other creatures die, from his mother to other deer they associate with; a squirrel gets its throat torn out by a predator, crows attack smaller creatures, a dog relentlessly tracks down an injured fox, etc. And yet he finds plenty to delight in as well. His first experience of the mating season is a time of giddy passion, surging emotions that culminate in fights with the other bucks (although there's nothing "twitterpated" here at all). He also takes simple joy in his surroundings, the colorful flowers, birdsong, warm sunshine etc. The nature writing is wonderful, beautifully evoking the seasons and surroundings of lush plant life and bird voices. As Bambi moves into adulthood his life becomes more solitary and then he begins to associate closely with an older stag of the forest, who mentors him and shares his wisdom.

One of the most interesting parts of the books is about another deer named Gobo whom Bambi grew up with. During their first winter Gobo collapses in the snow and is rescued by a hunter. The other deer are all shocked and amazed when he reappears healthy and well later on. But even though Gobo survived at the hands of Man, he is now unfit for life in the forest and his inability to live as a wild deer is painfully illustrated. Another part of the book also shows how the animals interact with mankind: when the fox is tracked by a hound they end up arguing about their relationships to man. The fox sneers at the dog for being a traitor to animals by serving man; the dog asserts that man is good to those who work for him. Other parts of the story that also show how humans affect wildlife, as in when a massive tree is chopped down and many small creatures are suddenly homeless.

I could go on and on, but I won't tell you more because I want you to read the book! I think most people are only familiar with the Disney film version of Bambi, and that's a shame. There are few similarities, namely the early death of Bambi's mother. There are no giggling bunny and skunk friends; the Hare Bambi meets is a serious creature and the Owl he knows is a little screech owl who delights in trying to frighten others with his shrieks. There is no fire in the book, and the threat of human hunters is much more prominent. This story is so different, much deeper and so beautifully written. I wish more people would read it, especially to their children.

Rating: 5/5 ........ 158 pages, 1928

more opinions at:
Eyrie
jonathanandme

Daddy Kisses

by Anne Gutman

A sweet little board book we've had on loan from the library for some time and I figured I'd better write about it before we take it back. Each spread shows an animal nuzzling its young with a phrase describing it: Daddy wolf gives his pup a kiss on the nose then Daddy rabbit gives his bunny a kiss on the ear, and so on. Of course the book is a perfect invitation to kiss your baby on different parts of her body, while naming them, and at the last page My daddy kisses me all over, like this you have an excuse to smother your little one with kisses and get an explosion of giggles (or squirming to get away, ha ha!) The illustrations are soft and simple, and it's short which is always good for brief attention spans.

There's a companion book called Mommy Hugs which I've seen a few times at our library as well.

rating: 3/5 ....... 14 pages, 2003

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

by Brian Selznick

An orphaned boy named Hugo lives inside the walls of a Paris train station, surreptitiously tending clocks his uncle used to work on before he disappeared. While struggling to keep his life afloat- often stealing to obtain food- he is also working on a secret project: trying to restore an automaton that he thinks will give him a secret message from his father. Then he gets caught stealing clockwork parts from an old man's toy shop, and as punishment is made to work in the shop. The old man's granddaughter is curious about him and stubbornly refuses to give up as she tries to figure out his secrets. The story is not only about a boy growing up alone, living a secret life and trying to solve a little mystery but also about unexpected friendship, the dawn of filmmaking and holding onto your dreams.... it was surprisingly how all the threads of the story came together in the end, I really wasn't expecting some of the connections and the story felt quite unique to me.

I've seen this book mentioned on quite a few blogs but never really added it to my list. Then it jumped out at me when I was idly browsing shelves at my daughter's school library last week (they have it open one day a week in the summer)- really I was following the crawling babe around to make sure she didn't cause havoc and then noticed this insanely fat book on the shelf right at my nose. I pulled it out and it was Hugo Cabret. So I decided right there to borrow and read it myself. And it was delightful. It looks really long but in fact most of the pages are pictures that tell the story in place of words, so you can get through it rather quickly. And the drawings are wonderful:

My husband has been to see the film with our daughter and he said the movie was astonishingly close to the book just in how the images translated to film alone. That makes me want to see it now, as well. And then read Wonderstruck.

rating: 3/5 ....... 533 pages, 2007

more opinions:
Diary of an Eccentric
Across the Page
Bookwyrme's Lair
The Book Addict

piles and piles of books

that I now want to read someday, thanks to those noted below!

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones- Things Mean a Lot
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff- Presenting Lenore
The Brides of Rollrock Islands by Margo Lanagan- Things Mean a Lot
Fledgling by Octavia Butler- A Striped Armchair
Choky by John Wyndham- Kyusi Reader
Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card- Stuff as Dreams are Made On
Partials by Dan Wells - It's All About Books
Acacia by David Anthony Durham- Opinions of a Wolf

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult- BermudaOnion's Weblog
Wonder by R.J. Palacio - At Home with Books
Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka - Caribousmom
Heft by Liz Moore- You've Gotta Read This!
Girl Reading by Katie Ward- Shelf Love
Seen Reading by Juile Wilson- Books Under Skin

Outside the Lines by Amy Hatvany- Book Addiction
The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen- Bookfoolery and Babble
Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles - Farm Lane Books Blog
Precious Bane by Mary Webb- It's All About Books
Blackmoor by Edward Hogan- Page 247
The Iguana Tree by Michel Stone - Book Chase 
Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson- The Lost Entwife
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews- Books Under Skin

Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mehew - The Book Lady's Blog
Fauna by Alissa York - Page 247
Instruction Manual for Swallowing by Adam Marek - Books Under Skin
Kings of Colorado by David E. Hilton- Caribousmom
Rufous Redtail by Helen Garrett- Across the Page 
The Call by Yannick Murphy- books i done read
The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson

A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill- Opinions of a Wolf
Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte
Crow Country by Mark Cocker- Page 247
A Gentle Plea for Chaos by Mirabel Osler- The Captive Reader
The Orchard by Theresa Weir- Shannon's Book Bag and You've Gotta Read This!
American Grown by Michelle Obama- Stuff as Dreams are Made On
Garden People by Ursula Buchan- The Captive Reader

My Natural History by Liz Primeau- The Captive Reader
How Carrots Won the Trojan War by Rebecca Rupp- Commonweeder
The Transplanted Gardener by Charles Elliot- The Captive Reader
The Potting Shed Papers by Charles Elliot- The Captive Reader
My Garden, the City and Me by Helen Babbs- The Captive Reader
Dear Friend and Gardener by Chatto and Lloyd- The Captive Reader
Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim- So Many Books

Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott- Shelf Love
Deep Country by Neil Ansell- The Captive Reader
End of the World as We Know It by Robert Goolrick- Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma- Sophisticated Dorkiness 
Wild by Cheryl Strayed- Sophisticated Dorkiness
Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom- SMS Book Reviews
The World in Your Lunch Box by Claire Eamer- SMS Book Reviews

MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche- Book Addiction
Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman- The Book Lady's Blog
The Invisible Heart by Nancy Folbre - The Captive Reader
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher- Things Mean a Lot
Trauma by Dr. James Cole- Shannon's Book Bag
Complications by Atul Gawande- Sophisticated Dorkiness

The Mind's Eye by Oliver Sacks- A Striped Armchair 
Winged Obsession by Jessica Speart- Sophisticated Dorkiness 
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud- Shelf Love 
A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori- Things Mean a Lot 
Wandering Son by Takako Shimura- Things Mean a Lot

whew! I guess it's been too long since I've done this, either that or your book posts have been especially enticing lately...

The Adventures of Old Man Coyote

by Thornton W. Burgess

Another story about a new animal arriving in the forest and making everyone nervous. This time it is an eerie voice heard at night that frightens the smaller creatures. Eventually they figure out it's a coyote who has moved in from the West. The foxes quickly discover that the coyote is larger than them, and a competitor for the same prey. Granny Fox is determined to trick the coyote into leaving, even though she's afraid to face him herself. In the end the coyote proves that he's not afraid of them and smarter than anyone else. Even though he can quickly loose his temper, he also has a sense of generosity and fairness. The foxes begrudging admit that he'll stay among them.

The themes through this book were about judging those you've just met, honesty (or lack of it, rather- as Granny Fox was spreading rumors) and being brave. Curiously it showed two aspects of this: the skunk always put on a brave face even when he was frightened, and soon other animals decided he was brave and left him alone. Whereas Reddy Fox always brags that he's brave, but shows himself to be a coward so the other animals tease and pester him about it. There was a slight discrepancy with an earlier story here that puzzled me; in one scene here the coyote gets tricked into meeting the porcupine, an animal he's never met before and doesn't quite know how to deal with. But in The Adventures of Prickly Porky it seemed that the coyote hadn't met the porcupine at that time yet, either- he was forced into a surprise encounter with it rolling downhill. Hm.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 71 pages, 1916

Animal Farm

Fables Vol. 2 

by Bill Willingham 

Second volume in the Fables series. The story in this one takes place on the farm where all the non-human fable creatures live.  Snow White and her sister Rose Red drive up to see how things are going on the Farm and find themselves in a middle of a revolution. A group led by one of the Pigs wants to storm on the human fables who live (unfairly, they feel) in New York City and then move on to take back their homelands. Violence, treachery and complications ensue. Snow White finds her sister has joined the other side, the tiger Shere Khan is stalking her, and she has to figure out who is supplying the animals with weapons and stop them. Again, I really wasn't so much taken by the storyline as intrigued by the portrayal of famous characters in a different light, but didn't get enough of that. I could have done without the violence. At one point when heads were getting blown off and bunnies toting guns, I was ready to just quit, but later picked up the book and finished it. The ending was interesting, and I am curious to see where the next volume leads, but not sure how long I'll continue in this series. I love the artwork.

rating: 3/5 ........ 128 pages, 2003

more opinions:
Things Mean a Lot
Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Girl to the Rescue
Book Bloggy Blogg

Legends in Exile

Fables Vol. 1

by Bill Willingham

This is my first unintentional DNF book. I lost it today, on a walk to the park. We retraced our steps, asked at the library, it's simply missing. I'm hoping someone picked it up and will turn it in! And annoyed that I was nearly done and now have spoiled the ending for myself by starting to read the second volume, which gives a bit of a rehash at the beginning. Argh.

Well, so the premise is that all the creatures of fable, legend and fairytale (was the lion's kingdom briefly mentioned supposed to be Narnia?) have been driven out of their homelands and secretly taken up residence in New York City (except for the ones with outlandish appearances, or talking animals, who live upstate on "The Farm"). When the story opens, it's reported that Snow White's sister Rose Red has been murdered, and an investigation ensues. I'm not really big on murder mysteries so that part of the story didn't wow me much. I was more interested in the background story teased out of the characters, and the revelations of who was doing what where and why now. The Big Bad Wolf  is a detective, Snow White works for the government, Prince Charming is wooing and dumping princesses left and right. Jack of the beanstalk is a disreputable character it seems, and one of the three little pigs wanders in and out of the pages, now a fat old porker. There's lots of other interesting characters as well. I got just far enough to realize who was responsible for the crime scene, but not enough to read about why it happened. Crossing my fingers someone returns this one to the library (they only have one copy, so if it doens't show up I'm on the hook for it) so I can finish the last chapter.

abandoned ........ 128 pages, 2002

The Adventures of Prickly Porky

by Thornton Burgess

Like Mr. Mocker, this story isn't so much about a character himself as the confusion he causes in others. The porcupine is a newcomer to the forest and the other animals are impressed with his size, long teeth, and sharp quills so they keep their distance. Soon stories begin to spread about a strange, frightening creature seen at daybreak on the hill where Prickly Porky lives. It is an animal said to have no legs, head or tail, yet chases others with alarming speed. Peter Rabbit is terrified of it, even Reddy Fox and his wise Granny run away from it. Of course eventually someone figures out the mysterious creature's identity and then as each character learns what is going on they trick others into coming by when the strange beast appears so they can see them get frightened out of their wits. The last one to be fooled is Old Man Coyote, very put out indeed!

This is the first time I've read a Thornton Burgess book and wondered at the accuracy of the animal behavior it depicts (aside from the animals talking and holding parties for their friends, of course). I know that porcupines eat bark, climb trees, grunt to themselves, sleep in piles of dry leaves. But has one ever really curled himself up and rolled downhill? It sounds like a myth to me.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 74 pages, 1916

The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad

by Thornton W. Burgess

Hm. There's not much really happening in The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad, I'd hardly call it adventures at all. Instead, it's mostly about Peter Rabbit's curiosity when he discovers all kinds of things he didn't know about his homely neighbor the toad. When the story begins Peter and his friends are laughing themselves silly because Mr. Toad tells them he's going to sing in the spring chorus around the pond. They're astonished to find that the relatively unattractive toad has a wonderful voice. Peter Rabbit is so impressed that he begins to pay more attention to Mr. Toad and further learns all about baby toads (tadpoles), where Mr. Toad goes in the summer and how he hides from enemies and bad weather by digging himself into the ground. He (and the reader) finds out about Mr. Toad's an astonishingly long, sticky tongue and beautifully jeweled eyes. But probably the most surprising thing of all is that Mr. Toad has something in common with the largest animal in the forest- Buster Bear. And when that discovery is made a little adventure does take place; although as is common in these books it has to do with some animals playing tricks on the others. Enjoyable reading that will teach you quite a bit about toads, in a friendly fashion! For a little summary on some facts about toads found in the book, visit Ellyanna's Discoveries.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 118 pages, 1916

Blankets

by Craig Thompson

I've had Blankets on my TBR list for some time but had to put in a hold request at the library to finally get a copy in hand. I can see why it is so popular, and it certainly stands up to all the praise on other blogs (see links below). The first thing that impressed me about this book was its length. At almost 600 pages, it is by far the most hefty graphic novel I've ever read. And yet it was quick to get through. I only lingered over it to appreciate the artwork and reabsorb some of the scenes.

The story is about the author's childhood, coming-of-age and innocent awakening to the wonders of love. It's painful to read at times, lovely at others. Craig grew up in a Christian family with well-meaning parents who managed to make him feel guilty about his body and plenty of other things as well, including his gift for drawing. He shared a bed with his younger brother and a lot of the memory parts are of them playing together, squabbling over space, cringing from their father's anger, consoling each other. As he grows older, they drift apart and Craig finds himself more alone as he doesn't fit in well at school. Even at religious camp he can't meld with the crowd and join in the mass mentality; he always feels apart. But there he meets Raina, and almost instantly loves spending time with her. Their friendship develops to the point where after camp is over, they write long letters pouring out secrets and affection. Finally Craig convinces his parents to let him go visit Raina. He finds that her family isn't perfect either: her parents are facing divorce, she is often left alone to care for two adopted siblings with special needs, and her older sister's baby. Even so they manage to find plenty of time to spend alone, and grow even closer. Long walks in the snowy woods, long talks in her bedroom, clandestine snuggling at night... When Craig returns home he wants to continue their connection but Raina feels that a long-distance relationship is too much strain. He also starts questioning his religious upbringing and trying to reconnect with his brother, in the process of all that seeking to find himself.

It really is beautifully expressed, everything from the awkward tenderness of first love to the sibling ties and rivalry to the troubled relationships with parents. The drawings filled with patterns and dreams felt wonderfully expressive of emotion. And I loved the scenery. Some panels just showed the trees reaching to the sky, or the houses sitting in drifts of snow, or the arrangement of a room, and it made the story feel so real and vivid in a place, just like paragraphs of description can do. I think so far this is my favorite graphic novel, even though quite a bit of it can be hard to take in- there is prejudice, unfairness and unkindness, hints of child abuse and neglect. But the wonderful moments and tenderness make up for all that.

Rating: 4/5 ....... 582 pages, 2003

more opinions:
Shelf Love
Book Bloggy Blogg

Splash!

by Flora McDonnell

It is a blistering hot day. The elephants are hot. The tiger is hot. The rhino is hot. One by one the animals all follow baby elephant to to water where they splash around and cool off. Very simple story with wonderful pictures. They're lively, expressive, textured and quite unique. I think that's what drew me to pick up this book. My favorite spread is where the tiger lolls across two entire pages with his ears drooping and his tongue hanging out. All the animals look so happy when they finally get into the water, and the splashing pages are full of action. Fun little book.

Rating: 3/5 ....... 32 pages, 1999

Now I Eat my ABC's

by Pam Abrams photographs Bruce Wolf

Clever little board book that has pictures of food in the shape of letters to form the alphabet. A isn't for apple here, it's for asparagus, B is lines of blueberries, C my favorite fruit, a slice of cantaloupe. Food letters of note? I for ice cubes, Q for quesadilla, U for udon noodles, V some lovely vanilla beans and the always- troublesome X? x-tra cheese on a pizza. I like the picture of Y for yogurt- a bowl of granola with a thick creamy yogurt Y in the middle. My seven-year-old was more intrigued with this book than the baby I borrowed it for! It's also fun to sing the ABC song putting in the words now I eat instead of now I know. Makes for lots of giggles. Yum yummy!

Rating: 4/5 ....... 16 pages, 2004

Whitefoot the Wood Mouse

by Thornton W. Burgess

This little story illustrates clearly how difficult life is at the bottom of the food chain! Whitefoot the wood mouse has enemies on all sides- from birds in the air that would swoop down on him to predators on the ground. So he thinks he's quite safe when he finds a new home inside the farmer's shed, under a pile of wood. It's all quiet and cozy until the farmer and his son busy themselves using the shed to make sugar from maple sap. Whitefoot is curious and watches them until it seems their activities will endanger his snug little home!

Then there's an odd gap in the story and we find Whitefoot living out in the open again, in a little hole. He has to move when threatened by a weasel, and goes through some exhausting travels trying to find a new suitable hiding place, while at the same time dodging his many enemies. Finally Whitefoot makes a new, safe home and then something wonderful happens: Whitefoot meets another wood mouse and falls in love. Everything is roses until his new little mouse wife wants them to move! and her idea of a perfect house doesn't really suit Whitefoot at all.

Another charming Burgess story that teaches about how wild animals live while at the same time encouraging children to be kind and fair to others. I read this one on my kindle.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 112 pages, 1922

The Adventures of Grandfather Frog

by Thornton W. Burgess 

Grandfather Frog and his cousin old Mr. Toad have a little rivalry going on. Whenever they visit together old Mr. Toad boasts of things he's seen traveling in the wide world, and Grandfather Frog claims that sticking close to home is the best. Finally the toad goads Grandfather Frog enough that he decides to leave his pond and do some traveling himself. All his friends urge him to stay at home but their worries that Grandfather Frog doesn't know how to take care of himself in the wide world only sting his pride and make him more determined to go. Of course he has plenty of mishaps on his adventures, from getting hot and tired away from water so long, to having a frightful scare when the farmer's boy intends to catch him. Even after a narrow escape he still stubbornly continues on and it takes more serious scares that threaten his life before the old frog swallows his pride and goes back to his safe home, very much relieved to be there!

 I think this little book teaches children pretty clearly that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Others may look like they're better off than you, but different things suit different people and we shouldn't envy what others have but be content with what we've got. It also teaches quite a bit about nature, particularly things about frogs: what they like to eat, how dependent they are on water, their modes of travel, etc. I found it quite an engaging little story that has a lot going on under the surface.

 Rating: 4/5 ....... 96 pages, 1915