[BOOK REVIEW] One, Two, Three Going to Sea by Alain

Title:  One, Two, Three Going to Sea

Author:  Alain

Artist:  Alain

Genre:  Humor / Traveling / Friendship / Children's

Year Published: 1964

Year Read:  2018

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I had a ton of children’s books that I kept on my shelf for many, many years and yet, I was never able to get around to reading those books, despite the fact that I had those books since I was a toddler!  “One, Two, Three Going to Sea” by Alain was one of those children’s books that was on my shelf for years and I did not read, until now!

The story starts off with several fisherman going out fishing in the sea. As the story progresses, more fisherman was added to the cast, which eventually led to nine fishermen meeting up with one more fisherman and then…

What happens next?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! I just loved the way that Alain wrote this book as this story was full of humor and creativity!  I just loved the way that Alain helps children learn how to count to ten by counting out the number of fishermen going to sea, while also presenting the concept of adding and subtracting numbers by using the fishermen each time one of them joins or leaves the party.  Alain’s artwork was also a treat to look at as the artwork was done in a simplistic yet cute style that really made these characters come to life in a unique way.  I also loved the fact that the artwork is mostly shown in blue, white and black colors as it makes the artwork look even more creative!

Overall, “One, Two, Three Going to Sea” is a truly fantastic read for children who want to learn about counting and who enjoy reading books that deal with the sea!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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[BOOK REVIEW] Once a Mouse...by Marcia Brown

Title:  Once a Mouse...

Author:  Marcia Brown

Genre:  Children's / India / Animals / Gratitude / Folktale

Year Published: 1961

Year Read:  1997 (Re Read: 2018)

Publisher:  Charles Scribner's Sons

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Intense Situations)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Revised Review (For Reread):

*Original Rating: 4 stars*
*Rating Now: 5 stars* 

Now, I had read Marcia Brown’s retelling of the ancient Indian folktale “Once a Mouse…” many years ago and I had actually written a review for it years ago (some of my thoughts in the original review will be restated in this all new review)!  So, I decided to read this book again after all of these years to see if I still felt the same way I did years ago and surprisingly enough, I found out that I liked this book better the second time around than I did the first time (which is so awesome)!

The story started off with a wise old hermit thinking about big and little, when suddenly, he sees a mouse being chased by a crow and he ends up saving the mouse from the crow.  From then on, the hermit started taking care of the mouse until a cat came into the clearing and was about to eat the mouse until the hermit changed the mouse into an even bigger cat. Afterwards, the mouse kept getting threatened with a bigger animal until the hermit finally transformed the mouse into a tiger and the tiger, who was once a mouse, starts taking advantage of its huge size.

What will the hermit do with the tiger now?

Read this book to find out!

Marcia Brown had done an excellent job with both writing and illustrating this ancient tale from India.  I loved the way that Marcia Brown made this story so dramatic, especially since I was sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see if the mouse will survive in the forest with all of the dangers such as a cat, a dog and a tiger, threatening it.  I also loved the fact that Marcia Brown tackled the importance of being grateful to the people who helped you as it provides a great lesson for children to learn about being thankful to the people who have helped them out of a dangerous or complicated situation.  Marcia Brown’s illustrations are creative and rough-edged as the characters have jagged limbs and the coloring that is the most prevalent in this book are red, black, white and brown which creates a traditional atmosphere to this story.

The only problem I had with this book was that the narrative was a bit of a struggle to get through because the sentences were broken up, meaning that one half of the sentence would be on one page and the other half of the sentence continues onto the next page.  This can be extremely confusing for smaller children who are reading this book and parents might want to help their children read through this book to help their children understand the book much better.

Overall, “Once a Mouse” is a truly wonderful tale about how it is important to show gratitude towards someone who has helped you get out of a sticky situation, or in this case, four sticky situations!  This book will surely become a great classic for children who are interested in Indian culture.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the sentence structure might be a bit too difficult for smaller children to read through.

* 1962 Caldecott Medal

* 1966 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

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[BOOK REVIEW] Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet

Title:  Randy's Dandy Lions

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Circus / Animals / Training / Children's

Year Published: 1964

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (A Scene of Bullying)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

“Randy’s Dandy Lions” is another classic book from the creative mind of Bill Peet about how Randy’s lions always had stage fright but they realized that there are things far scarier than stage fright.  “Randy’s Dandy Lions” is a superb book about friendship that children will enjoy for many years.

Bill Peet has done it again with his brilliant illustrations and witty writing.  Bill Peet’s writing is cleverly written in a rhyming prose, making this story similar to Dr. Seuss’ children’s books, thus making the story extremely creative to read as children will have fun putting the rhyming words together.  Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful as usual in this book, especially in the images of the lions performing on stage as the lions are innocent looking yet also look a bit cowardly and scraggly, which fit the situation that the lions were in perfectly.

Parents should know that the new trainer that he Colonel hires to replace Randy may frighten smaller children, especially during the scenes where the new trainer starts whipping the lions relentlessly.  Parents might want to tell their children that it is not good to mistreat pets in this manner and that one should not use brute force to get what he or she wants.

“Randy’s Dandy Lions” is another great classic from the brilliant mind of Bill Peet and will surely attract many children who are fans of Bill Peet’s marvelous work.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since smaller children might be frightened by the new trainer who comes later on in the book.

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[BOOK REVIEW] Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Title:  Green Eggs and Ham

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Food / Humor / Surrealism

Year Published: 1960

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Green Eggs and Ham” is another brilliant classic from the creative mind of Dr. Seuss and it is about how Sam-I-Am tries to convince a furry guy in a black top hat to try out green eggs and ham.  “Green Eggs and Ham” is an excellent book for children of all ages, but the repeating verses can be a bit painful to read over and over again if you are not used to reading the same verses over and over again.

Dr. Seuss’ illustrations are colorful and hilarious as they show images of Sam-I-Am and the tall furry creature in the black top hat going on outrageous adventures such as riding a car into a tree and then having the car drive on top of a train, while the images follow the repeating verses that Sam-I-Am proposes different ways of eating the green eggs and ham.  Also, the characters themselves are creatively drawn, especially of the images of Sam-I-Am wearing a yellow shirt and a red hat, indicating that he is laid back, while the tall creature, who is nameless, wears a black top hat and is furry, which indicates that he has a somewhat reluctance to accept anything different.  Dr. Seuss’ story is highly creative and hilarious as it details how Sam-I-Am tries to get the tall furry creature to eat green eggs and ham in a humorous way and children will easily be drawn to the wackiness of this story.

Some children and parents might be a little annoyed at the constant repeating verses that the furry creature with the black top hat makes each time Sam-I-Am mentions a new way to eat green eggs and ham such as eating on a train and then eating on a boat.  Some children might be a little bored with the repeating verses as they might complain that they already heard what the tall furry creature is complaining, while parents might find it a bit of a hassle to read the same verses over and over again.

“Green Eggs and Ham” is a wonderful book for children who are huge fans of Dr. Seuss and who want to read books about trying out new things in a creative way.  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate about this book and the verses are easy for small children to understand.

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• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

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REASON FOR BEING BANNED:  Was banned by the People's Republic of China in 1965 for having a Marxist allegory.

[BOOK REVIEW] Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel

Title:  Tikki Tikki Tembo

Author:  Arlene Mosel

Artist:  Blair Lent

Genre:  China / Family / Drama / Parental Favoritism

Year Published: 1968

Year Read:  1993

Publisher:  Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Intense Scenes and themes of Child Mistreatment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I actually first heart of this book on a Weston Woods video and I really enjoyed this story!  “Tikki Tikki Tembo” is an old Chinese folktale retold by Arlene Mosel along with illustrations by Blair Lent and it is about how a young boy named Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruche-pip peri pembo (what a name!) gets into big trouble because of his long name.  “Tikki Tikki Tembo” is certainly a great book for children who are fans of Chinese folklore!

I have always found this book extremely interesting to read, especially about the part where the first sons are given long and extravagant names, while the second sons are always given short names in Ancient China.  Arlene Mosel has done an excellent job at retelling this ancient Chinese folktale as the story is cute and somewhat intense at the same time.  I really loved the way that Arlene Mosel repeats Tikki tikki tembo’s long name (Tikki tikki tembo – no sa rembo -  chari bari ruchi – pip peri pembo) over and over again in the book since it is a huge tongue twister to say fast!  I also loved the close relationship between Tikki tikki tembo and his brother Chang as they loved to play with each other all the time and they are always willing to help each other out during their time of need.  Blair Lent’s illustrations are simplistic since there are only yellow, blue, white, black, grey and green colors on each page, but the illustrations still make the story entertaining to read, especially as they capture the true essence of Ancient China and it was also interesting to see a big contrast in clothing between Tikki tikki tembo and Chang as Tikki tikki tembo is dressed in a blue royal looking outfit while Chang is always dressed in a yellow country styled outfit, which indicates to the audience about the importance of their names.

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating instead of a five star rating is because of the way that Chang was treated in this book.  Since Chang is the second born son of the family, his mother never really noticed him and they also seemed to lack any concern for when Chang fell into the well.  Also, near the end of the story, it was unclear whether Chang was treated any better after the incident in the well.  I usually do not approve of children being treated less kindly than their older or younger siblings, so this was a big issue for me in this book.  Also, some children might feel like that their parents are paying more to their younger or older sibling and that might upset them, so parents should tell their children that they will always love all of their children equally.

All in all, “Tikki Tikki Tembo” is a great book for fans of Chinese folklore and for children who enjoy reading about some good sibling bonding!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the scenes where the boys fall into the well might be too intense for smaller children.

* 1968 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Picture Book

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[BOOK REVIEW] Swimmy by Leo Lionni

Title:  Swimmy

Author:  Leo Lionni

Genre:  Animals / Drama / Family / Danger

Year Published: 1963

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Alfred A. Knopf

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Scary Scenes and Death of a Family Member)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I have have heard works from Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Marc Brown and David Wiesner, but I have finally stumbled upon some works that came from my childhood a long time ago and those works consist of Leo Lionni!  “Swimmy” is a Caldecott Honor book by Leo Lionni and it is about how an unusual little fish named Swimmy, who survives a giant fish attack, tries to find another family to live with.  “Swimmy” may have an intense scene with the big fish that might frighten small children, but I am pretty sure that most children will easily enjoy this book!

Once there lived a happy school of small fish who were all red except for one fish was black and his name was Swimmy.  One terrible day however, a huge tuna fish came by and swallowed up all of the red fish except for Swimmy who had escape from the huge tuna.  Swimmy, now the sole survivor of a tuna attack, then swims around in the deep watery world by himself in order to find a new family to be in.

Will Swimmy find a new family?

Read this book to find out!

Never have I read a children's book that has both effective drawings and a heartwarming story at the same time as Leo Lionni has made this book!  Leo Lionni has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book as it details the adventures of a unique black fish named Swimmy.  Leo Lionni's illustrations might look a little bit simplistic, however, they are extremely effective and colorful, especially of the images of the underwater world where it seems that Leo Lionni took a piece of sponge and patted the background with the painted sponge, which really brings out the creativity of the images of the underwater world.  The image that truly stood out the most for me was the image of Swimmy himself as he is shown to be the only black fish among a group of red fishes, who merely look like red outlines of fish.  Leo Lionni has certainly made this book extremely intense yet heartwarming at the same time as I have felt sympathy for Swimmy after he lost his family to a tuna fish and I can understand how many children and adults will also sympathize with Swimmy's predicament, especially if they lost loved ones to an accident.

Parents should know that at the beginning of this book, Swimmy's family is eaten by a giant tuna fish and that might be too upsetting for smaller children to handle.  On a side note, this scene strongly reminds me of a scene in “Finding Nemo” where Marlon's family except Nemo is also eaten by a huge fish and how Marlon has to cope with protecting his only son from anymore danger.  Parents might want to discuss about death of a family member with their children before they read them this book.

Overall, “Swimmy” is a highly emotional and heartwarming book for children who have also lost their family members and how they can still find love among friends and other family members. I personally would recommend this book to anyone who loves Leo Lionni's works and learning about what it takes to be a true family.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the scene where the big fish eats all the other fish might scare smaller children.

* 1964 Caldecott Honor

* 1965 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Bilderbuch

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