[BOOK REVIEW] And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

Title:  And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Fantasy

Year Published: 1937

Year Read:  2019

Publisher:  Vanguard Press, Inc.   

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (One Offensive Image)

Buy on: Amazon  //  Book Depository

I have been reading Dr. Seuss’s works ever since I was a child (it is pretty much a requirement as a child to read a Dr. Seuss book). So of course, I still have not read all of Dr. Seuss’s works and one of the books that I had owned ever since I was little, but I never really read was “And to Think that I Saw it On Mulberry Street!”  I only picked up this book after all of these years when some of my Goodreads friends had recommended it to me and I must say that it was quite a decent beginning for Dr. Seuss’s early works.

The story starts off with Marco’s father telling Marco to keep his eyelids up and see the things he can see on the street.  So, when Marco walked down Mulberry Street, he noticed a horse pulling a broken-down wagon down the street.  Marco thought that this sight was too boring and he started to imagine seeing more lavish decorations to the horse and wagon such as imagining it as a chariot being pulled by a reindeer or a sleigh being pulled by a large blue elephant with a Rajah riding on the elephant.

I have been reading many of Dr. Seuss’s works ever since I was a child and this book just happened to pass under the radar for me at the time.  It is amazing in seeing how Dr. Seuss’s earlier works differs heavily from his later works (for one thing, Dr. Seuss’s earlier works are a lot wordier than his later works).  So, of course I was a bit curious about seeing how this early work of Dr. Seuss’s would turn out and I ended up being quite interested in the subtle yet creative storytelling of this book!  Dr. Seuss had done a great job at writing this story as the story explores how far Marco’s imagination can go and teaches the reader about the beauty of having a vivid imagination. I loved the scenes of Marco using his imagination to make the sight of Mulberry Street much more interesting as it made the scenes much more entertaining to look at.  I especially loved the scenes of Marco imagining a musical band being pulled by a blue elephant as it was such a creative sight to see!

The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because while the story was quite creative, I do not think that this book was as memorable as some of Dr. Seuss’s later works.  For one thing, the writing is much lengthier than most of Dr. Seuss’s works and that can make this book a bit of chore to read through. Also, this book does not have Dr. Seuss’s signature odd creatures that usually appear in his books (with the exception of the blue elephant).  There is also a controversial image in this book of a Chinese boy being shown as an offensive stereotype of Asians that might offend some people (although this book was written during the 1930s).

Overall, “And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street” is a great introduction to Dr. Seuss’s earlier works and would be a great read for children who are huge fans of Dr. Seuss’s works!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the portrayal of the Chinese boy might offend some people.

You might also like:

• The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

• Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton

Title: Choo Choo

Author: Virginia Lee Burton

Genre:  Trains / Adventure / Classic / Drama

Year Published: 1937

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source: Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (One Scary Scene)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read at least two books from Virginia Lee Burton when I was younger and they were “The Little House” and “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel” and I had enjoyed both books immensely!  So, I then picked up another book by Virginia Lee Burton called “Choo Choo” which was quite a unique read and is one that I would definitely recommend for children!

The story is about a beautiful little locomotive named Choo Choo who would pull trains from the city to the country and back again every day.  She was always accompanied by three workers who were named Jim the Engineer, Oley the Fireman and Archibald the Conductor who would all come together to take care of Choo Choo.  One day however, Choo Choo was getting tired of pulling trains in between the cities and the country and she decided to run away from the station and show everyone in town how beautiful she really is!

What sort of adventures will Choo Choo get herself into?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  I never would have thought that I would enjoy this book so much!  Just like Virginia Lee Burton’s other works, this book has a classic and old fashioned feel as we get to see how trains look like during the 1930s.  I also loved the fact that this story has a different twist to the usual children’s story about trains, as it details the story about a young train running away from its owners, which I rarely read about in previous books about trains.  Virginia Lee Burton does a great job at making this book both cute and exciting at the same time as I loved the fact that Choo Choo’s owners really do care about what happened to Choo Choo when she goes missing as it brings in a heartwarming element to the story.  I was also sitting on the edge of my seat as I wondered if Choo Choo was ever going to make it back home safely and I liked the way that Virginia Lee Burton detailed the dangers of running away from home as Choo Choo gets into all kinds of danger on her travels and it would help teach kids about the dangers of running away from home by themselves.  Virginia Lee Burton’s artwork is quite unique in this book as most of the images are in black and white colorings, giving this book an old fashioned and bold feel and I also enjoyed seeing the images of Choo Choo herself as she is drawn as a cute looking locomotive, which strongly reminds me of the image from “The Little Engine that Could!”

The only real issue with this book is that there is one image in this book where Choo Choo ends up going through a scary looking forest that might frighten smaller children. The trees are drawn in a much eerier manner compared to the rest of the images and parents might want to go through the images in this scene first to see if their children can handle such scary imagery.

Overall, “Choo Choo” is a truly cute book that children who enjoy reading about trains will definitely get a kick out of!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the image of the scary forest might scare some smaller children.

You might also like: 

• The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
• Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

[BOOK REVIEW] The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

Title:  The Little Engine that Could

Author:  Watty Piper

Artist:  George and Doris Hauman

Genre:  Toys / Travel / Perseverance / Classic

Year Published: 1930

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:   Platt & Munk Publishers

Series: The Little Engine that Could #1

Source: Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Nothing Objectionable) 

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Now I have a bit of a confession to make:  I actually was introduced to this classic children’s story through an animated special that premiered on TV way back in the early 1990s and I have only just recently decided to pick up the book that the animated special was based off of.  “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper along with artwork by George and Doris Hauman is truly a cute classic that children will read for years to come!

The story starts off with a little train carrying good things for the little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain such as teddy bears, dolls, books for the children to play with.  The little train also carried good food for the children to eat such as apples, oranges, milk and peppermint drops.  Just as the little train was heading towards the mountains with all of these good things for the little boys and girls, it suddenly stopped on the train tracks and it could not budge.  The toys then began to lament this predicament and they tried to receive help from various trains that stopped by.  Unfortunately, none of the trains wanted anything to do with taking the toys to the other side of the mountain and they just left the toys on the side of the tracks.  Finally, a little blue engine came along and…

Will the little blue engine help the toys get to their destination and will the toys make it over the mountain in time to give the little girls and boys their gifts?

Read this book to find out!

Watty Piper (which is actually a pseudonym for the Platt & Munk Publishing House) had done an excellent job at writing this cute little story as it details the importance of perseverance through the actions of the little blue engine as she tries to get the toys to their destination despite being so small.  I like the fact that this story teaches children about the importance of never giving up in the face of a difficult situation and that they just need to do the best they can when they are dealing with situations that might be impossible for them.  I also like the idea about the story being mainly about the toys and the train trying to get to the other side of the mountain to deliver toys and food to the little boys and girls since it reminds me a bit of how Santa Claus usually has to deliver toys and goodies to many children of the world, except in this case, this story does not take place during Christmas.  George and Doris Hauman’s artwork is truly adorable to look at as all the toys are so cute to look at and I especially loved the image of the little engine herself as she is colored in blue, which is quite a unique color for a train, and she constantly has a smile on her face that makes me root for her.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating is because I felt that the pacing for this story was a bit slow and I wished that they trimmed off a bit of the toys’ conversations with the trains in order to get to the main point of the story.

Overall, “The Little Engine that Could” is a cute story about the importance of perseverance in the face of hardship that children will easily relate to!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

* 1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

[BOOK REVIEW] The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss

Title: The King's Stilts

Author: Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Royalty / Responsibility / Drama / Surrealism / Fantasy

Year Published: 1939

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:   Random House

Source:  Library

Content Rating: Ages 5+ (Some Scary Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Now, anyone who has been reading Dr. Seuss’ books are probably more familiar with his books “The Cat in the Hat,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Lorax.”  But, did you know that Dr. Seuss had created some earlier books that dealt with the days of old where kings and kingdoms still existed?  Well, “The King’s Stilts” by Dr. Seuss is such a book and it was a truly wonderful experience to behold!

Once upon a time, there lived a King named King Birtram who ruled the kingdom of Binn.  Every day, the King would sign important papers of state, while taking a bath and his page boy Eric would hold up the papers while his other servant Lord Droon would give the King the papers to sign.  But, probably the most important duty that the King has to do is to take care of a group of cats called the Patrol Cats, who protect the Kingdom of Binn from a group birds called Nizzards.  The reason why the Patrol Cats are needed to protect the kingdom is because the kingdom is surrounded by the sea and only a set of trees that surround the kingdom called the Dike Trees can prevent the sea from flooding the kingdom.  Unfortunately, the Nizzards are constantly pecking at the roots of the Dike Trees and the Patrol Cats have to chase them away.  After the King finishes all the hard work he has to do for the kingdom, he takes a well-earned break by playing with his trusty stilts and everyone in the kingdom like the fact that the King is able to take some time off from his work.  Unfortunately, the only person in the kingdom who does not like the King having fun on his stilts is Lord Droon since he believes that the King should never have any fun and he goes to the King’s private quarters and steals his stilts and forced Eric to dig up the stilts near the sea.  Now with the stilts gone, the King became depressed and neglected his duties for the kingdom. This caused the Patrol Cats to get fat and lazy and they could not chase away the Nizzards, who started pecking away at the trees.   Only Eric the Page Boy knows about the stilts, but Lord Droon threatened Eric to not tell the King about the stilts.

Will Eric be able to get the stilts back to the king before it is too late for the Kingdom of Binn?

Read this book to find out!

You know, even though I had read some Dr. Seuss books that were pretty dark in tone such as the “Bartholomew” books, “The Lorax” and “The Butter Battle Book,” it was still surprising to see another early Dr. Seuss book that takes place during the medieval times while still having dark situations happen to the characters.  I like the way that Dr. Seuss wrote this story, as it was quite unique from most of his other works as the story is not told in Dr. Seuss’ usual cheerful rhyming scheme, but told in a straightforward narrative, which makes the story much more serious to read through.  I also like the theme that Dr. Seuss presents in the story about how it is important to take a break once in a while after working hard and the fact that the King can function in his work activities extremely well after he goes out for a spin on his stilts really reinforce this idea.  I like the fact that the King has a pretty good relationship with Eric the page boy, even though I would have liked to see more scenes of Eric and the King together to get a full grasp on their relationship with each other.  Dr. Seuss’ artwork is as usual, highly creative to look at as the artwork is mostly presented in black and white colors, but there are certain objects in the artwork that are colored in red to show their significance to the story, such as the King’s cape and stilts, Eric the Page Boy’s pants and the Patrol Cats’ badges.

Parents should know that unlike most of Dr. Seuss’ later works, the tone of this story is much darker as the scenes where the Kingdom of Binn is in danger of being flooded by the sea because of the Nizzard birds nibbling on the dike trees might scare some small children.

Overall, “The King’s Stilts” is a truly remarkable read from Dr. Seuss’ earlier works and one I would definitely recommend you check out!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the intense scenes involving the Nizzards would scare some smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese

Title:  The Story About Ping

Author:  Marjorie Flack

Artist:  Kurt Wiese

Genre:  Animals / China / Family / Runaway

Year Published: 1933

Year Read:  1993

Publisher:   Grosset & Dunlap       

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Themes of Family Separation)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I actually first heard about his story years ago on a Weston Woods video.  “The Story of Ping” is a Chinese story by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese about how a young and beautiful duck named Ping gets lost in the Yangtze River after he tries to avoid punishment of being late.  “The Story of Ping” is a cute story about showing the consequences of disobedience and the importance of family that children cannot resist!

Once there lived a beautiful young yellow duck named Ping who lived with his mother, his father, his two sisters, his three brothers, his eleven aunts, his seven uncles and his forty-two cousins in the wise-eyed boat on the Yangtze River.  Every morning, the duck family would hunt for snails and fishes to eat, but in the evening, the master of the boat calls the duck family back to the boat and the last duck coming to the boat will be spanked.  One afternoon however, Ping did not hear the call from his master because he was underwater and when he finally swam towards the boat, the last of his forty-two cousins crossed the bridge and Ping did not want to be spanked, so he hid in the grasses until the next morning and he set out into the Yangtze River to find his family.

This is one of those books that remind me about why I love reading about folktales from different cultures!  Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese made a great team in both illustrating and writing this book!  Marjorie Flack did a great job at pointing out the messages of this book about how being disobedient can get you into trouble and the importance of family as Ping traveled the river by himself to find his family.  I also loved the Chinese influence that Marjorie Flack brought to the story as it made the story even more magical to read since it is like placing yourself in a faraway land!  I also loved the way that Marjorie Flack made Ping into a brave little duck as he was tried to find his family by himself and faced dangerous obstacles by himself and children will be rooting for him throughout the book.  Kurt Wiese’s illustrations are just simply beautiful, especially of the image of Ping himself as he is the only yellow duck in his entire family, which makes him truly stand out from all the other ducks.  The images that I really enjoyed in this book were the images of Ping swimming in the river and you can see Ping’s beautiful reflection in the water.

Parents should know that this book focuses on Ping being separated from his family, so smaller children might be upset about Ping going out into the river by himself with danger lurking everywhere.  Parents might want to read this book first to see if their children can handle Ping’s situation.

All in all, “The Story about Ping” is a fantastic book about the importance of family that many children will easily enjoy and learn from.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the scene of Ping being separated from his family might scare smaller children.