[BOOK REVIEW] Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet

Title:  Farewell to Shady Glade

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Environmentalism / Animals / Travel / Drama

Year Published:1966

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Nothing Objectionable)

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“Farewell to Shady Glade” is another classic book from Bill Peet and it is about how a group of animals have to move away from Shady Glade in order to find a safer place to live when bulldozers came to tear down Shady Glade.  “Farewell to Shady Glade” is a brilliant book about the trials of moving to a new place that children will surely love.

Bill Peet’s story about how a group of animals try to find a new place to live is truly touching as the animals try to believe in the hope of finding a new home and children will easily relate to the animals’ struggles of finding a new home as many children have experienced an experience where they have to move to a new home and how they have to adjust to the different atmosphere of their new home and how sometimes moving can be a scary experience for many children.  Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful and cute especially of the images of the animals themselves as they are fat and furry and look so small compared to the outside world that they are thrown into as they move away from their home.  The image that stood out the most was the image of the old raccoon looking like he is the biggest and wisest of all the animals as he has a look of wisdom on his face.

“Farewell to Shady Glade” is a heartwarming story about having a moving experience that many children will easily relate to for many years.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of this book might bore some smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] Paul Bunyan by Brian Gleeson

Title:  Paul Bunyan

Author:  Brian Gleeson

Artist:  Rick Meyerowitz

Genre: Tall Tale / Logging / Humor


Year Published: 1990


Year Read: 2010


Series: Storybook Classics

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

 

There have been many Rabbit Ears stories that I have not heard of up until now and “Paul Bunyan” is one of them.  “Paul Bunyan” is about the largest and tallest logging man in history named Paul Bunyan who starts his adventures as he tries to chop down all the trees in the Dakotas so that the new settlers could have homes to live in.  Jonathan Winters’ rich narration along with Leo Kottke and Duck Baker’s inspiring music and Rick Meyerowitz’s hilarious illustrations, all combine together to make “Paul Bunyan” one of the most creative and hilarious stories ever created on Rabbit Ears!

Being a huge fan of the Rabbit Ears series ever since I was five years old, I could imagine myself loving this story at first sight… yes, I loved this story at first sight!  Jonathan Winters’ narration is the true highlight of this story as it is rich and full of excitement and the scene where I thought that Jonathan Winters’ narration truly shined was when he provided a hearty laugh for Paul Bunyan, making Paul Bunyan’s character a truly friendly one.  Rick Meyerowitz’s illustrations are extremely hilarious and creative at the same time as the pictures are mainly accompanied by a white background, effectively emphasizing to the reader that it is wintertime in the story.  The image that stood out the most for me was the image of Paul Bunyan himself as he wears a red flannel shirt with green overalls, brown boots, an orange cap and bushy black hair and a bushy black beard.  I also loved the way that most of the characters are always shown smiling towards the audience since it helped brighten the mood of this story!  Leo Kottke and Duck Baker’s music is fantastic as it is mainly accompanied by a solo guitar which gives the story a tranquil spirit that will have both children and adults be mesmerized by the beauty of a solo guitar.  Brian Gleeson’s writing is just as hilarious and brilliant in this book as it was in “Pecos Bill” as Paul Bunyan is portrayed as an optimistic and inventive character who always has a solution to every problem that he comes against.  What really surprised me about this book was the half-way environmental theme at the end of the story. I will not tell you what happened since I do not want to spoil this story for you, but this was the only version of “Paul Bunyan” that I have heard that had an ending that ended on an environmental note and it was this part of the story that I really enjoyed!

Overall, “Paul Bunyan” is definitely one of the most hilarious and creative stories created by Rabbit Ears Productions and I am sure that many adults and children will enjoy this hilarious version of America’s favorite tall tale hero Paul Bunyan!

*~A Little Side Note~*

The book version and the DVD version of this story are one of the same, meaning that they have about the same illustrations and the same writing.  The only difference is that one is animated and the other you can just read out loud to yourself.  I am pointing this out because I noticed that many people buy the books from the Rabbit Ears series, but the books do not contain the audio cd to go with the book, so personally, I usually buy the DVD instead because it has both the narrator and the illustrations combined into one and it is more convenient for me, however I would not discourage anyone from reading the books from the Rabbit Ears series.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Wump World by Bill Peet

Title:  The Wump World

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre: Animals / Environmentalism / Pollution

Year Published: 1970

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Suggestive Themes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Wump World” is an inspiring environmental story from the great mind of Bill Peet and it is about how the Wumps’ world changes when a race called the Pollutians come onto the Wump world and start polluting the world.  “The Wump World” is a truly effective tale that really delivers the message of the dangers of pollution in a creative and dramatic way.

Bill Peet has done a magnificent job at bringing the message of the consequences of polluting as the Wump World becomes so polluted that no life can really live on the planet.  Many children will understand the negative effects of pollution as the book does a great job at describing the terrible effects that pollution caused on the Wump World.  Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful and effective as the illustrations of the wumps are creative as the wumps look like half moose and half elephant creatures and there are more creative images in this book as the Pollutians look like little blue people.  The images that stood out the most in this book are the images of the pollution that the Pollutians have brought to the Wump World as the sky and the world looks so dark and dreary, which effectively brings out the message of the dangers of pollution in an effective way.

Parents should know that the Pollutians do not seem to learn their lesson as they seem more intent on finding another planet to live on rather then just fixing up the mess they have caused.  Parents should tell their children that pollution is bad for the environment and that if they caused a mess, they have to clean up after themselves.

“The Wump World” is a heartwarming tale about the importance of respecting the environment that children will learn greatly from I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of the book might bore smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

Title:  American Tall Tales

Author:  Mary Pope Osborne

Artist:  Michael McCurdy


Genre: Tall Tales / Fantasy / Heroes


Year Published: 1991


Year Read:  2008

Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

 “American Tall Tales” is a set of tales from famous tall tale heroes of the west, African-American history, and of the Mississippi. Mary Pope Osborne’s hilarious retelling of the American heroes and Michael McCurdy’s wood engraved drawings both make these set of collections an instant treat.

“American Tall Tales” is a great book about tall tale legends that made a difference in the world. One of the best advantages in this book is the colorful characters. Each tall tale character is a portrait of self confidence and perseverance and each try to achieve their goals and therefore, become great figures in history. A couple of great examples would be of Mose the Fireman who volunteers to save innocent lives, regardless of him not being paid for his work. Mose lives to help people in danger of losing their lives in a fire and would stop at nothing to make sure that the people get out of the dangerous situations that they are in alive. Another great example would be John Henry, who sacrificed his life to save the duties of the other workers so that they would not lose their jobs to the drill machine. Michael McCurdy’s wood engraved drawings are magnificent as he gives this book an old-fashioned style, especially when he creatively illustrates each tall tale character as tough yet friendly looking figures.

“American Tall Tales” is probably the greatest retelling of America’s greatest tall tale heroes and how they made a difference during their time and helped encouraged modern day readers to believe in themselves and do the right thing. Parents who want to teach their children about American Folktales would be interested in this book as it is suitable for children ages five years and older.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Title:  The Lorax

Author:  Dr. Seuss


Genre: Environment / Satire / Animal


Year Published: 1971


Year Read:  1992

Publisher:  Random House Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Suggestive Themes and Intense Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Lorax” is one of Dr. Seuss’ most memorable books as it is about the importance of taking care of all of the trees in the world.  “The Lorax” may have some controversial issues, but it is still a great book for both children and adults to treasure for many years.

Dr. Seuss’ story about how chopping down too many trees can destroy the Earth’s environment is truly powerful and moving as it realistically portrays what can happen to the environment when trees are cut down through Dr. Seuss’ childish world.  Dr. Seuss’ illustrations as always are extremely creative and inventive especially when we are first introduced to the land of the Truffula trees, the land is colourful and peaceful looking, but when the once-ler starts cutting down all the Truffula trees, the land looks dark and bleak, representing the pollution that is caused from cutting down the trees.

Parents should know that even though I personally do not see anything wrong with this book, this book was considered extremely controversial due to the fact that many people believed that the book was trying to promote the idea that industrialization is a bad thing.  Personally, I think that this book was just trying to discuss about the issues of environmentalism and that cutting down too many trees can cause pollution on the earth.

“The Lorax” is one of the greatest books about the issues of environmentalism that kids will understand perfectly and will definitely be evolved into one of the greatest cult classics to ever come to the world of children’s books.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to the controversial material about whether or not industrialization is a good or bad thing for the world that small children might not understand.  

REASON FOR BEING BANNED: For portraying the foresting industry in a negative way and some people felt it persuaded children to be against logging.