And now, for a trip down memory lane

Reader response to The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Back cover reads: "Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank , thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other."

My Rxn:
Wow. This is really low on the range of age to which I am accustomed. I'd say it could be used in 3rd-5th grade classrooms, but that's it. It's only 89 pages, has a huge font, and several pictures. I polished it off in about 45 minutes. I'm really not a big fan of it though. It's typical kid lit- a good story that keeps the reader interested... but I want to know more about the characters. Fleischman didn't do a very good job setting up the prince and the whipping boy. It needs a smidge more. It's a great book to use if you want to illustrate metanoia in literature. It's cute.

No quotes. Instead, a chapter title that caught my eye:
"Chapter 18: Of assorted events in which the plot thickens thicker." That made me smirk.

Reader response to Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Back cover reads: "It was hard enough for Mr. Popper to support himself, Mrs. Popper, Bill and Janie Popper. The addition of twelve penguins to the family made it impossible to make both ends meet. Then Mr. Popper had a splendid idea- the talented penguins would be a sensation on the stage. And so they were."

My Response:
I think this (along with the sidewalk drawing scene in Mary Poppins) is the basis for my love of penguins. I don't exactly remember when I read this, but judging on the book itself, it must have been around 3rd or 4th grade. I like the book because it has penguins in it. I don't like it because it ends very abruptly and very "happily ever after." It was also written in 1938... so there are some things in there (like big vocabulary words and $5 to fix a refrigerator) that might seem a little strange. Typical kid lit here as well. Finished it in an hour. It's cute.

Unfortunately, cute doesn't win the Word Nerd Seal of Approval.