Days with Frog and Toad. An I Can Read Book. Arnold Lobel. 1979. HarperCollins. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
Toad woke up. "Drat!" he said. "This house is a mess. I have so much wok to do." Frog looked through the window. "Toad, you are right," said Frog. "It is a mess." Toad pulled the covers over his head. "I will do it tomorrow," said Toad. "Today I will take life easy." Frog came into the house. "Toad," said Frog, "your pants and jacket are lying on the floor." "Tomorrow," said Toad from under the covers. "Your kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes," said Frog. "Tomorrow," said Toad. "There is dust on your chairs." "Tomorrow," said Toad. "Your windows need scrubbing," said Frog. "Your plants need watering." "Tomorrow!" cried Toad. "I will do it all tomorrow!" Toad sat on the edge of his bed. "Blah," said Toad. "I feel down in the dumps." "Why?" asked Frog. "I am thinking about tomorrow," said Toad. "I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do." "Yes," said Frog, "tomorrow will be a very hard day for you."
This Frog and Toad book contains five stories: "Tomorrow," "The Kite," "Shivers," "The Hat," and "Alone." I really, really enjoy three of these stories.
Tomorrow is probably my favorite in this collection. (And it's useful for inspiration.) I love Toad's drat's and blah's. Toad has a choice to make--to do the work of each day on that day, to take the work with the pleasure, OR to put off all the work so he can have all the pleasure. But there is always a day of reckoning. So perhaps, it's best that Toad learns this lesson quickly!
The Hat is a delightful story. Frog gives Toad a birthday present, a hat. But the hat is much too big for his friend. He feels awful about that. How can he fix the hat without his friend realizing it?!
Alone is another wonderful story! Toad discovers a note on his friend Frog's door. A note saying that Frog wants to be alone for a while! Toad worries and panics a bit! Why oh why oh why would Frog ever want time away from him?! Does this mean that Frog doesn't want to spend any time with him? Does it mean that Frog doesn't want him as a best friend anymore?!
The Kite is a story about diligence and perseverance. The two friends are having trouble getting their kite to fly. One friend wants to give up, wants to just admit that their kite is junk and that it will never, ever fly. The other wants to keep trying. It's a playful story. And Frog and Toad do shine in it!
Shivers is about the two friends telling a ghost story and getting delicious shivers.
© 2016 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Oh Say Can You Say. Dr. Seuss. 1979. Random House. 36 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Said a book-reading parrot named Hooey, "The words in this book are all phooey. When you say them, your lips will make slips and back flips and your tongue may end up in saint Looey!"
Premise/plot: A book of silly tongue-twisters.
My thoughts: Not nearly as fun as Fox in Socks. Though I did like the one about bed spreaders and bread spreaders. Also the ones focused on Christmas like "Merry Christmas Mush" and "But Never Give Your Daddy a Walrus." Here's how the Merry Christmas Mush one goes: "One year we had a Christmas brunch with Merry Christmas Mush to munch. But I don't think you'd care for such. We didn't like to munch mush much." So I liked it, but, didn't really, really like it.
Have you read Oh Say Can You Say? Did you like it? love it? hate it? I'd love to know what you thought of it!
If you'd like to join me in reading or rereading Dr. Seuss (chronologically) I'd love to have you join me! The next book I'll be reviewing is The Tooth Book.
© 2015 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
The Spellcoats. Diana Wynne Jones. (The Dalemark Quartet). 1979. HarperCollins. 280 pages.
I want to tell of our journey down the River. We are five. The eldest is my sister Robin. Next is my brother, Gull, and then my brother Hern. I come fourth, and I am called Tanaqui, which is a name from the scented rushes that line the River. This makes me the odd one out in names, because my youngest brother is Mallard--only we always call him Duck.Did I love it? I'm not sure that I did. Did I like it? Definitely! What I liked most about this one was the setting, the tone. There is something about the way Diana Wynne Jones tells a story. There is something about how she draws readers in slowly but surely. Not that this one has a slow-pace. (Though I wouldn't say the pace is ever thrilling.) It has action, adventure, mystery. All the things you'd expect to find in a fantasy novel, but it's uniquely told, in my opinion. Our heroine, Tanaqui, is weaving this story into two coats--two spellcoats. And there is a richness in the details, in the setting, in the telling. If you're in the right mood, then I think it has great potential. If you're expecting a light, fun, humor-oriented fantasy like
Wee Free Men or
The Amulet of Samarkand, then you might be disappointed.
My review of
Cart and Cwidder.
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Days with Frog and Toad. An I Can Read Book. Arnold Lobel. 1979. HarperCollins. 64 pages.
Toad woke up. "Drat!" he said. "This house is a mess. I have so much wok to do." Frog looked through the window. "Toad, you are right," said Frog. "It is a mess." Toad pulled the covers over his head. "I will do it tomorrow," said Toad. "Today I will take life easy." Frog came into the house. "Toad," said Frog, "your pants and jacket are lying on the floor." "Tomorrow," said Toad from under the covers. "Your kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes," said Frog. "Tomorrow," said Toad. "There is dust on your chairs." "Tomorrow," said Toad. "Your windows need scrubbing," said Frog. "Your plants need watering." "Tomorrow!" cried Toad. "I will do it all tomorrow!" Toad sat on the edge of his bed. "Blah," said Toad. "I feel down in the dumps." "Why?" asked Frog. "I am thinking about tomorrow," said Toad. "I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do." "Yes," said Frog, "tomorrow will be a very hard day for you."
This Frog and Toad book contains five stories: "Tomorrow," "The Kite," "Shivers," "The Hat," and "Alone." I really, really enjoy three of these stories.
Tomorrow is probably my favorite in this collection. (And it's useful for inspiration.) I love Toad's drat's and blah's. Toad has a choice to make--to do the work of each day on that day, to take the work with the pleasure, OR to put off all the work so he can have all the pleasure. But there is always a day of reckoning. So perhaps, it's best that Toad learns this lesson quickly!
The Hat is a delightful story. Frog gives Toad a birthday present, a hat. But the hat is much too big for his friend. He feels awful about that. How can he fix the hat without his friend realizing it?!
Alone is another wonderful story! Toad discovers a note on his friend Frog's door. A note saying that Frog wants to be alone for a while! Toad worries and panics a bit! Why oh why oh why would Frog ever want time away from him?! Does this mean that Frog doesn't want to spend any time with him? Does it mean that Frog doesn't want him as a best friend anymore?!
The Kite is a story about diligence and perseverance. The two friends are having trouble getting their kite to fly. One friend wants to give up, wants to just admit that their kite is junk and that it will never, ever fly. The other wants to keep trying. It's a playful story. And Frog and Toad do shine in it!
Shivers is about the two friends telling a ghost story and getting delicious shivers.
© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers
I really love the Dalemark Quartet - although I've read them all I've read the 4th one dozens of times. It took me years to be able to FINALLY get hold of all four.
Must re-read them soon. I agree with how you said "There is something about the way Diana Wynne Jones tells a story. There is something about how she draws readers in slowly but surely."
I don't know quite how she does it but she has this way about her doesn't she... I don't know what it is and I can't describe what makes her different.
I think... it feels like SHE is telling you this story. That's how it feels to me and it's so natural that it feels that it's already there in my imagination and always has been.