Mr. Gumpy's Outing

Mr. Gumpy's Outing
John Burningham
Henry Holt and Company, 1866
Pages: 30
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book

Mr. Gumpy lived in a house by the river and owned a boat. He was going out on his boat one day, and two children asked if they could come. He said yes, but only if they didn't squabble. Then a rabbit asked, and Mr. Gumpy said yes, only if he didn't hop. Then he let a cat if he didn't chase the rabbit, a dog if he didn't tease the cat, a pig if he didn't muck about, a sheep if he didn't bleat, some chickens if they didn't flap, a calf if he didn't trample about, and a goat if he didn't kick. For a while they went along happily, but then the goat kicked, calf trampled, chickens flapped, sheep bleated, pig mucked, dog teased, cat chased, rabbit hopped, children squabbled, and the boat tipped. They walked home in the hot sun to dry, and went and had tea. Then Mr. Gumpy bade them all farewell and told then to come back again later.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Problems this book could cause: This book could cause kids to think it's okay if they don't listen to instructions.

My reaction: I did not like this book at all. It was boring and had no theme.

My rating: **

Martha Walks the Dog

Martha Walks the Dog

Susan Meddaugh

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1998

Pages: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Genre: Picture Book

Martha is a dog who learned to talk one day when she was eating alphabet soup. The letters went up to her brain instead of her stomach. One day while Martha is taking a walk, she walks past a house with a sign that says "Beware of Dog." Martha is curious, so she walks up to the house. A huge dog runs at her and starts barking like crazy. A man runs out and yells "Bad Dog Bob!" Many times. The dog is just very angry. Martha is walking home when she passes an open window with a parrot inside. Martha, just for fun, teaches the parrot to say nice things like "good dog." A few days later, Martha sees her friend the poodle wander into Bob's yard. Martha doesn't want the poodle to get hurt, so she starts yelling mean things at Bob to get his attention. It works and Bob runs at her. Martha then realizes that Bob's chain is broken, and that he is coming for her. Martha runs and runs and runs. Finally she hides under a bush at the parrots house. Right when Bob gets to her, Martha hear's the parrot say "Good dog!" Bob stops...and smiles. Bob's owner comes and notices how happy Bob is, and tells him he is a good dog. Martha realizes that saying nice things to people makes them happy.

I would recommend this book to all young children. I think that it teaches an important life lesson about not calling people mean things.

Problems: I can't think of any problems this book would cause.

My reaction: This book is okay. I liked the original Martha book much more.

My rating: ***

Celia and the Sweet, Sweet Water

Celia and the Sweet, Sweet Water

Katherine Paterson, Illustrated by Vladmir Vagin

Clarion Books, 1998

Pages: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Genre: Picture Book

Celia, here mother Mara, and their dog Brumble all lived together in a little cottage in the countryside. one day Mara became very ill, and was not getting better. Celia heard her mother say that if only she could have a drink of the sweet sweet water of her childhood she would be saved. So Celia and Brumble set off to find the sweet sweet water. They walked into a forest, and the first thing they ran into was a wild child. He scratched at the air, but Celia was not afraid. She offered him her cheese and bread, and the boy was astonished, for no one had ever been to kind to him before. He ate it, and told her that if she were to pass through his part of the forest again, that she should stop and say hello. Celia agreed, and then went on. They came out of the forest and met a woman in a boat crying. Celia asked what was wrong, and the woman told her she was lonely. Celia gave the woman her cloak and told her they'd be her friends and tell her stories as they crosses the lake in her boat. The woman agreed. After they crossed the lake, they came to a mountain, where there was a very angry man who wouldn't let them pass. Celia knew that music always calmed her down when she was angry, so she pulled out a flute and played till the man was no longer angry. Then she gave him the flute, and the man offered to carry her across the mountain so she could teach him how to play as they went. They crosses the mountain and came to the village, which was deserted. They found the well, which still had water, but there was no bucket. Celia tells Brumble to lower her into the well and she will fill her bottle. He did, and Celia filled the bottle. They were very happy. They headed home, with the help of the the man, woman, and child. When they came in view of the house, Celia ran, and tripped. The bottle broke and the water spilled. Celia was a wild as the boy, as angry as the man, and as sad as the woman. She cried over her mother, and her mother tasted the tears. She opened her eyes and said that the tears tasted the same as the sweet sweet water from her childhood. They learned that you can't share in someone's happiness until you share in their tears.

I would recommend this book to someone who has had a lot of hardship in their lives, because this book teaches that there isn't happiness until there has been sadness.

Problems: This book might convince children to leave home with no adult help at a young age.

My reaction: This story has a good theme, and I liked it.

My rating: ***

Dealing With Dragons

Dealing With Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

Scholastic, 1992

Pages: 212

Reading Level: 9-12

Genre: Fantasy

Cimorene is a princess. The only thing is, she doesn't like being a princess because she thinks it is very boring. She only gets to learn things like how to curtsy and embroider and dance. These things bored her so much that she started making people around the castle teach her to do other more interesting things, like fencing and cooking and magic and Latin. However, whenever her father or mother, the king and queen, found out about these things they made Cimorene stop because it was not proper for a princess. Cimorene's parents did not know what to do with her. They try to solve their problems by making her marry a prince she doesn't like. Cimorene really doesn't want to marry the prince, so she runs away to the dragon's. Cimorene becomes Kazul's dragon. She enjoys herself very much. She gets to work magic spells and read Latin and organize and cook for Kazul.While Cimorene is the cave one day when Kazul left, some wizards show up. Wizards are not good for dragons, and are banned from the mountain. They come in and sneak a peek at a book of Kazul's. It is a dragon history book. Cimorene and Kazul discover that the wizards are working with a dragon to try and find out more about the Cave's of Fire and Night. It turn's out that the stone that decides which dragon is going to be the next king can be controlled by one of the stones in the Cave's of Fire and Night. Then the dragon king is murdered. Cimorene's friend, the stone prince, overhears a wizard talking to the dragon Waroug, and it turns out that Waroug poisoned the king so that the wizards could cast a spell on the stone that chooses the next king and make Waroug king of the dragons. Cimorene and her friends make it in time to the ceremony, melt a few wizards and stop them from doing their spell, and save the day. The stone chooses Kazul to be the next king, and everyone live happily ever after.

I would recommend this book to older children, young adults, and adults. Everyone should read it.

Problems: I don't want children thinking that if they run away from home all their problems will go away.

My reaction: I really really like this book. I read it for the first time when I was about ten, and have loved it since. If you ever have a chance to buy it, do.

My rating: ****

Pierre's Dream

Pierre's Dream
Jennifer Armstrong
Dial, 1999
Pages: 32
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book

Pierre is a lazy man who doesn't do much. One day while is is sleeping under a tree, a circus comes and sets up around him. When Pierre wakes up, he thinks it must all be a dream. A lion gets out, and Pierre, who thinks he can't be hurt because it is all a dream, commands the lion back into the cage, and the lion obeys. Then he walked on the tightrope and did some tricks. The circus people asked him if he could swallow swords and juggle fire and lie down beneath the elefants foot, and Pierre said he could because he thought he was dreaming still. So the circus people made him ringmaster. During the first show he brought out the ponies and made them run fast, and then he jumped on one's back and stood up. Then he hung from the trapeze while juggling hoops lit on fire, and many other things. He was tired, because he had never had a dream that seemed so real or lasted so long. He sat down under a tree and fell asleep. When he awoke he thought of the wonderful dream he had had. He bumped a parasol, and noticed that it had a note on it which said, "Au Revior, Pierre." He laughed and realized that it wasn't a dream.

I would recomend this book to children who are about 6 or 7, because then they are old enough to realize that what Pierre did was dangerous, and young enough to find the fact the he thought he was dreaming it all very funny.

Problems: I would be afriad that children might think that if Pierre can do it that they can too. They might try dangerous stunts

My reaction: This book is creative, and I loved it. The pictures are great and add to the story a lot.

My rating: ***

Parts

Parts
Tedd Arnold
Puffin, 2000
Pages: 32
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: picture book

In this book who thinks he is falling apart. He is combing his hair and he notices that some of his hairs fell out, he finds lint in his belly button and thinks his stuffing is coming out, his feet are peeling, and his "brains" are coming out of his nose. When his tooth gets lose, he decides that the glue that is supposed to hold him together isn't working. He starts to worry about his eyeballs, arms, and head coming off. He starts to tape himself together when his parents come in and tell him that all these things are normal, and that they grow back. The little boy feels much better.

I would recomend this book to little boys. I think it is the kind of humor that they love.

Problems: This book might cause children to pick at their skin or hair to see if it will come off.

My reaction: This book is funny, i liked it a lot.

My rating: ***

The Little House

Te Little House
Virginia Lee Burton
Sandpiper, 1978
Pages: 44
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book

When the Little House was built, the man that built her said that she would never be sold and would live for a long long time, and Little House was happy. She enjoyed watching the land for many years. Then people started using cars and going much faster, and she still watched. They built up apartments around her, and no one wanted to live in her, but since she couldn't be sold, she just sat there and watched. Soon there was a train station next to her and a subway station under, and she couldn't tell what season it was. No one paid attention to her, they just hurried on by. Then the apartments next to her were torn down and big skyscrapers be built. Little House couldn't ever see the sun and was very sad. She looked shabby and old, even though she was still good on the inside. Then the great great grandaughter of one of the people who lived in the house found her and moved her to a hill in the country with daisies and apple trees, and fixed all the worn down parts on Little House, and Little House was very happy.

I wouldn't recommend this book to parents who want something good to read to their young children. This book is a classic.

Problems: I can't think of any problems this book could possibly cause.

My reaction: This book is very cute, and helps to teach about the passage of time.

My rating: ***