[BOOK REVIEW] There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr. Seuss

Title:  There's a Wocket in my Pocket!

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Fantasy

Year Published: 1974

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (One Scary Image)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is truly a brilliant book from the creative mind of Dr. Seuss and it is about how a young boy tells the audience about the strange yet fun-loving creatures that live in a young boy’s house.  “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is definitely one of the greatest books about rhyming ever written!

Dr. Seuss has done a splendid job at both writing and illustrating this book.  Dr. Seuss illustrations are truly great and creative as he illustrates the boy with a red outfit and spiky brown hair, which makes him a truly unique character in the book.  Also, the images of the creatures themselves are creative, especially of the images of the nupboards in the cupboards looking furry and yellow and have cotton ball shaped heads.  Dr. Seuss’ story is truly creative as the names that the boy gives to each creature is truly inventive as the names rhyme with various furniture that the creatures associate with such as the yeps on the steps and the vug under the rug.

“There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is a brilliant book that children will easily love for many years.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the image of the vug under the rug might scare smaller children.

You might also like:

• Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

• The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] Great Day for Up by Dr. Seuss

Title:  Great Day for Up

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Artist: Quentin Blake

Genre:  Humor / Inspiration / Children's

Year Published: 1974

Year Read:  1992 (Re Read: 2018)

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Now, I have been reading Dr. Seuss’ books for DECADES now and I think that I have almost read all of the books that were written by Dr. Seuss (told you I have been reading his books for DECADES)! This also includes the books that Dr. Seuss wrote, but did not illustrate as there were some other artists that illustrated Dr. Seuss’ works, such as Lane Smith’s artwork in Dr. Seuss’ book “Hooray For Diffendoofer Day!”  “Great Day for Up” is another book that was written by Dr. Seuss, but has artwork by Quentin Blake, who was well known for his artwork in Roald Dahl’s children’s books and it was quite an interesting read!

This book is basically about the narrator encouraging everyone around the world to get up in the morning and approach a new day with a smile on their faces!

Dr. Seuss had done a great job at writing this book as the verses are short, creative and silly and I often found myself giggling at the crazy verses about the people in the book getting up in the morning, such as this cute little verse:

“Up, whales!

Up, snails!

Up, rooster!

Hen!

Up!

Girls and women!

Boys and men!”

I also liked the fact that this book is similar to Dr. Seuss’ other work “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” as it is another book that reinforces positivity for yourself and that you should get up and go out into the world to do the things that you really want to do.  I also loved the ending of this book as it was probably the most hilarious moment in the book and I definitely recommend that you read the ending for yourselves to see what I mean!  I must admit that I do find Quentin Blake’s artwork to be adorable to look at in this book as all the characters are rendered in a slightly scratchy look and look a bit exaggerated with their expressions, which is something I have always enjoyed about Quentin Blake’s artwork.  I also enjoyed seeing the images of the various characters jumping around excitedly at the approaching new day upon them.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because even though I thought that Quentin Blake’s artwork was cute, I personally think that it looked a bit out of place in a Dr. Seuss book, even though I was alright with Lane Smith’s artwork in “Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!”  I guess I was so used to Dr. Seuss doing the artwork for his own books that seeing another artist do the artwork for his books kind of threw me off a bit.

Overall, “Great Day for Up” is a truly cute book about getting up in the mornings to approach a new day ahead of you that children will definitely be inspired by!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

• Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

• The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman

Title:  More Spaghetti, I Say!

Author:  Rita Golden Gelman

Artist:  Jack Kent

Genre:  Animals / Humor / Food / Friendship

Year Published: 1977

Year Read:  1990 (Re Read: 2018)

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

This is yet another special review where I review one of my most favorite books from my childhood in rhyme, since this particular children’s book is told in a rhyme!

There were two monkeys named Minnie and Freddy,   

Freddy wanted to play, all excited and ready.

But all Minnie wanted was her precious SPAGHETTI,

She wanted that spaghetti more than she wanted to play with Freddy.

More Spaghetti, I say, said Minnie, all happy,

Although Freddy was thinking this was getting too sappy.

With that spaghetti, Minnie did all kinds of things,

Including putting spaghetti on pancakes and ice cream, Minnie sings.

Can Freddy get Minnie off her spaghetti fever?

Read this book just to see her!                                                                                          

Rita Golden Gelman’s writing was just so fun!

I could read this book all day in the sun.

This book made me want to eat some more spaghetti,

If I could eat a thousand bowls of spaghetti, then I am ready!

Minnie and Freddy’s dialogue with each other was wacky and witty!

I wish I had a wacky friend like Minnie in the city!

Although I think it is weird to put spaghetti on everything,

Which just goes to show how wacky this book really is, I sing.

Jack Kent’s artwork is such a delight to see!

All the characters are as cute as can be!

I love the images of spaghetti everywhere,

It really features the prominence of spaghetti in the air!

So overall, “More Spaghetti, I Say!” was such a joy to read!

It is definitely a fantastic book with these words that I heed.

Children everywhere will definitely love the wackiness of this book,

For children ages four and up, it is definitely worth a look!

You might also like:

• Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth

• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

• Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

[BOOK REVIEW] The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet

Title:  The Caboose Who Got Loose

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Trains / Traveling / Children's / Adventure

Year Published: 1971

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a great story from the creative mind of Bill Peet about a small caboose named Katy who wants to escape her life as a caboose and live happily in a peaceful place.  “The Caboose Who Got Loose” may be a bit tedious for some children, but it is still a cute little story nonetheless. 

Bill Peet’s story about a caboose who wants to live a peaceful life in the countryside is a great tale for many children.  Children will feel for Katy’s sadness at being a mere caboose and not having a peaceful life of her own.  Bill Peet’s writing is highly creative as he narrates the story in a rhyming prose that fits the mood of the story perfectly.  Bill Peet’s illustrations are always the highlights in his books and this is certainly no exception.  The characters are drawn in a similar fashion as “The Brave Little Toaster” as the cabooses and the houses have windows for eyes. 

“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a cute story about how one must be satisfied with what life brings us and will definitely interest many children who love books about trains and how to love life.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate about the story.

You might also like:

• Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent by Bill Peet

• The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet

• Encore for Eleanor by Bill Peet

[BOOK REVIEW] The Gingerbread Man by Rana Giglio

Title:  The Gingerbread Man

Author:  Rana Giglio

Artist: Henrik Drescher

Genre:  Fantasy / Humor / Retelling / Fairy Tale

Year Published: 1997

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:   Harcourt Brace & Company

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Mischievous Behavior and Scary Imagery)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 

I have this weird confession to make:  I once had a dream about a book that was illustrated by Henrik Drescher that was obscured and in my dream, I ended up buying the book since I am a huge fan of Henrik Drescher’s works.  Well, I have to say that that dream actually came TRUE since I just recently bought this rare and obscure book called “The Gingerbread Man” which was retold by Rana Giglio along with artwork by Henrik Drescher and I have to admit that this book was a blast to read!

This book is basically a short version of the original fairy tale “The Gingerbread Man” and it pretty much retells the story about how an old couple bakes a gingerbread man and the gingerbread man ends up coming to life and running away from the couple, while yelling out:

“Run, run,

As fast as you can.

You can’t catch me.

I’m the gingerbread man!”

Will the gingerbread man escape the couple, the horse, the cow and the fox?

Read this book to find out!

Wow…just wow...this had to be the weirdest yet most creative version of “The Gingerbread Man” I had ever read!  I have to warn you though that this little children’s book is only EIGHT PAGES LONG!  Not the usual 63 pages you get from most children’s books…EIGHT!!!  So, I was quite surprised at how much of the original “Gingerbread Man” story they were able to get in such a short book, but it eventually worked out alright as this book serves to be an outline of sorts about how the “Gingerbread Man” story is told.  Rana Giglio did a great job at retelling this classic fairy tale as the narrative is short and simple enough to read through and it really conveys the true story of the Gingerbread Man through just a few words on each page.  But, the true highlight of this book is none other than Henrik Drescher’s colorful and bizarre illustrations as they bring this book to life and we are treated to a livelier version of the “Gingerbread Man” than ever before!  I was intrigued with the artwork of the gingerbread man itself as it is drawn much more differently than the average look for the character as the gingerbread man is much more human like in appearance and it has wobbly limbs instead of short and thick limbs like it usually does in most adaptations.

I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that this book was a bit too short since I wanted to see more of Henrik Drescher’s artwork through a much more extended version of the story.  I also will admit that I was a bit freaked out by the gingerbread man itself as while it is quite a unique design for the character, the fact that it has such wobbly limbs and oddly shaped eyes just put me on edge.  I mean, just look at this thing!

Overall, “The Gingerbread Man” is an instant treat for anyone who wants to read a more obscure version of the classic fairy tale!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the images of the gingerbread man might scare some small children.

You might also like: 

• The Fool and the Flying Ship by Eric Metaxas

• Runaway Opposites by Richard Wilbur

• Simon's Book by Henrik Drescher

[ARC REVIEW] A Ferret Named Phil by William Reimer

Title:  A Ferret Named Phil

Author: William Reimer

Artist:  James Moore

Genre:  Australia / Bullying / Animals / Trickery / Friendship

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: Liberty Road Publishing

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Bullying)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank the author William Reimer for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For years, bullying has been a major concern in many schools and there would be discussions about how children can handle being bullied in school in a nonviolent way.  Well, when the author William Reimer gave me a copy of his children’s book called “A Ferret Named Phil” which deals with bullying, of course I was extremely interested in checking this book out since I wanted to read more books that dealt with bullying and how the characters deal with it and this book was definitely a pleasant surprise for me!

One day, a ferret named Phil wanted to take his friend Jane out for a picnic by the lake.  Unfortunately, there was a scary hawk named Hugo who was always bullying Phil and the hawk suddenly decided to show up at Phil and Jane’s picnic to bully Phil once more.  Phil tried to stand up to Hugo, but Hugo ended up knocking Phil and Jane’s picnic into the lake and kidnaps Jane to teach Phil a lesson.

Can Phil save Jane from Hugo?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! William Reimer did a fantastic job at writing this book as it details the ugliness of bullying and how one must defend themselves against bullying.  I loved the way that William Reimer made this book both intense and uplifting as I was interested in seeing how Phil would stand up to Hugo, while also being shocked at the extremes that Hugo is willing to go with his bullying which includes kidnapping Jane just to teach Phil a lesson.  I also loved the fact that Phil never uses violence to stand up to Hugo as he relies on his wit to deal with Hugo, which sends a positive message about how violence never solves a bullying problem and that you should use your wits to deal with bullying.  James Moore’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at as all the animal characters look realistic and I loved the watercolor illustrations as they give the artwork a luscious and beautiful feel.  Probably my favorite artwork in this book are the illustrations of both Phil and Hugo themselves as Phil looks like an adorable ferret with a green scarf around his neck, which makes him look unique; while Hugo is terrifying to look at as he towers over both Phil and Jane and has red eyes which makes him look menacing.

Parents should know that there are some intense scenes in this book, especially regarding the bullying that Phil and Jane went through.  Probably the scene that would scare some children the most would be the scene where Hugo kidnaps Jane as they might worry about whether or not Jane is going to make it through this ordeal.  Parents might want to discuss with their children about bullying and how it has negative consequences on people and how they should handle it.

Overall, “A Ferret Named Phil” is a fantastic book about dealing with bullying and learning to stand up for yourself when being bullied.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the intense scenes would scare some smaller children.

You might also like:

• Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion by Brad Kessler

• Lila and the Crow by Gabrielle Grimard
• You Are Special by Max Lucado