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Harold and the Purple Crayon

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, 1955.

Harold loves drawing things with his purple crayon. In fact, everything in the story is a creation of Harold’s, drawn with his purple crayon.

First, Harold decides that he wants to go for a walk in the moonlight. He draws a moon and a path that he can follow.

Along the way, he decides to draw a forest with an apple tree. However, he makes the mistake of drawing a dragon to guard the tree, and it frightens him.

Harold’s hand shakes, and he accidentally draws water and falls in. Fortunately, he also draws a boat and sails to a beach where he can have a picnic lunch.

After a series of adventures, Harold decides that he wants to go home, but he has trouble finding his home. He looks for his bedroom window, and then realizes that his window should look out on the moon, which is still in the sky.

After drawing his window and bed, Harold goes to sleep.

The story is rather surreal. We never see Harold’s real home or any other people who are not drawn by Harold. All we see in the story is Harold and the things he draws with his purple crayon. This is a story about the power of imagination, and at the end, we can only imagine Harold’s real life because we never see him return to it.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

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Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, 1963.

One evening, Max puts on his wolf costume and starts causing trouble all over the house. His mother calls him a “wild thing” and sends him to bed early without supper.

As Max mopes in his room, a forest grows around him, and Max climbs into a boat and sails away.

Max eventually arrives at “the place where the wild things are.” There are all kinds of wild beasts and monsters there, and they make Max their king because he’s the wildest of them all.

After they all go parading about and swinging from trees, Max sends all the wild things to bed and is lonely because he wants to be with someone who loves him.

So, Max sails home again to have his supper, which is waiting for him, still hot.

Max’s magical journey is in his own head. Angry and hurt at being told off for his behavior, he imagined himself far away from where he was being punished, in a place where he could act any way he wanted and tell other people what to do. But, that wasn’t satisfying because what he really wants is to be loved and cared for. Wild monsters don’t get the kind of nurturing that small human boys get from their mothers, so there are benefits to being a civilized human. This is a classic children’s book about the power of a child’s imagination and how love and human feeling wins out over anger.

The book is a Caldecott Medal Winner. It’s available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Detective McGruff Sniffs Out a Thief

Detective McGruff Sniffs Out a Thief by Megan Durand, illustrated by John Sullivan, 1983.

Sniffy books, or scratch-and-sniff books, were popular during my early childhood in the 1980s, and they are still being made today. Scratch-and-sniff books are picture books with special patches that release a scent when they’re scratched. Kids like interactive books, so it can be fun for them to scratch a flower or some food in a picture and then smell it. I know from my old books that these scented patches eventually wear out, although I’m amazed that some of them still have a scent more than 30 years after the books were originally made. I had expected that the ones that my brother and I liked and scratched the most would be the ones that would eventually wear out the fasted, but it also depends on the strength of the original scent. The milder, more subtle scents are often more difficult to smell decades later. Scratching a little harder can sometimes help. This picture book is a mystery story, and I thought that it was clever, using the sniffy patches as part of the mystery story.

Mrs. Tabby loves shopping, but she often forgets to pay attention to her purchases while she’s looking at other things. One day, someone steals her shopping bag while she’s trying on hats at a sale. It’s terrible because the bag contained the chocolate cake for her son’s birthday.

Fortunately, Detective McGruff is nearby when Mrs. Tabby realizes that her bag is missing. Unfortunately, finding it isn’t going to be easy because many people are carrying blue shopping bags that look like hers. Mrs. Tabby isn’t sure what to do, but McGruff decides to use his nose to sniff out the correct bag.

McGruff approaches various shoppers and gives their bags a sniff. All of the bags look alike, but readers can scratch and sniff the special patches on each bag and try to guess what they contain before McGruff reveals the truth.

After sniffing several bags, McGruff eventually locates the one that smells like chocolate and finds the cake. But, curing Mrs. Taffy of being forgetful is another matter.

Detective McGruff, or McGruff the Crime Dog, was created in the early 1980s as a mascot for anti-crime messages from U.S. police and law enforcement agencies through the National Crime Prevention Council, including anti-drug messages and information related to the issue of child abduction. Sometimes, police use McGruff costumes when visiting schoolchildren to talk to them about crime.

Posted on by TracyC

Peter Rabbit's Sniffy Adventure

Peter Rabbit’s Sniffy Adventure by Jane E. Gerver, illustrated by Pat Sutendal, 1984.

Sniffy books, or scratch-and-sniff books, were popular during my early childhood in the 1980s, and they are still being made today. Scratch-and-sniff books are picture books with special patches that release a scent when they’re scratched. Kids like interactive books, so it can be fun for them to scratch a flower or some food in a picture and then smell it. I know from my old books that these scented patches eventually wear out, although I’m amazed that some of them still have a scent more than 30 years after the books were originally made. I had expected that the ones that my brother and I liked and scratched the most would be the ones that would eventually wear out the fasted, but it also depends on the strength of the original scent. The milder, more subtle scents are often more difficult to smell decades later. Scratching a little harder can sometimes help. If you look carefully at the pictures of our old book, you can see where the round scent patches are on the illustrations.

This book is based on The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. It’s meant as a continuation of Peter Rabbit’s adventures.

Peter Rabbit lives with his mother and three sisters. One day, Mrs. Rabbit leaves her children alone while she goes to run some errands, giving them a green pepper to eat while she’s gone.

Then, Peter’s cousin, Benjamin comes by and asks Peter to come with him and visit Mr. McGregor’s garden. Peter is reluctant to go because of the trouble that he got into the last time, but Benjamin finally persuades him to come.

In Mr. McGregor’s garden, the bunnies eat raspberries, get into a sawdust pile, and stop to pick some flowers. Peter’s clothes become more dirty, stained, and torn through their adventures.

Then, Benjamin spots a beehive and suggests that they get some honeycomb to take home. They end up angering the bees, and Peter falls in a stream as they run away.

When he returns home, Peter is a mess, and he apologizes to his mother for going to Mr. McGregor’s, promising not to do it again. His mother gives him a bath and puts him to bed with a cup of mint tea.

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Egg in the Hole Book

Egg in the Hole Book by Richard Scarry, 1967.

This is a board book with a very special feature: a hole that goes all the way through the pages to the back of the book. There is something yellow, soft, and fuzzy in the hole, and it becomes obvious as you read the book what it is.

Henny lays an egg in the barn’s hayloft, but she loses it when it rolls through a hole. The anxious chicken immediately chases after it.

Down below, Billy Goat tells her that the egg fell on the ice cream that he was going to eat for dessert and then rolled out the window.

From there, Henny follows the egg’s path along a rain gutter, out a down spout, through a fence, into a hollow log, and eventually, into a hole in the ground.

When Henny fears that her egg is lost in the hole, a mouse comes out to tell her that the egg broke, but it has hatched into Henny’s new baby chick! (The yellow, soft, fuzzy thing.)

My brother and I used to like this book when we were little kids. I think of it as a kind of Easter story because of the bunny painting Easter Eggs, although the book isn’t really about Easter. Baby chicks are also often associated with Easter. It’s cute how the egg’s path is marked by little dots as it rolls across the barnyard, and the gimmick with the holes in the pages is clever.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies). Of course, you can’t quite enjoy the effect of the hole feature with the electronic copies.

Posted on by TracyC

The Sleepy Puppy

The Sleepy Puppy by Mary Jo Chamberlin, illustrated by Florence Sarah Winship, 1961.

Johnny’s father brings a new basset hound puppy home to his son. Johnny is excited about his new dog, but the puppy is sound asleep. Johnny’s father tells him that puppies are like small children, that they need sleep and love, and when they grow bigger, they’ll be more active. Johnny has to be patient and let his puppy grow.

The puppy falls asleep in his dinner and on the grass outside when Johnny takes him out to play. The puppy seems to be able to sleep through anything, and Johnny wonders if the dog will ever be able to do more than sleep.

On the Fourth of July, Johnny tries to get his dog to pull a little cart in the pet parade, but Johnny ends up having to pull the cart with his dog on it instead.

Then, one day, Johnny’s puppy wakes Johnny because he wants to play. Suddenly, Johnny’s dog is full of energy, and Johnny can play with him!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

I loved this book when I was a little kid, and I think it has a good lesson for young children about caring for pets. Animals, especially young ones, do require patience and time to grow, just like human children do. Johnny is bound to also learn that they also require some training once they get active, but there’s time for that, and that’s been the subject of other children’s books.

Posted on by TracyC

Jessica the Blue Streak

Jessica the Blue Streak by Sucie Stevenson, 1989.

Jessica is a six-month-old puppy who has just arrived at her new home. The lady the family bought the dog from warned them to keep Jessica in her crate at night to keep her out of trouble, but the family is confident that they know about dogs.

They already have two dogs, Chelsea and Wolf, and they’re hoping that all three dogs will be friends. Chelsea doesn’t mind Jessica, but Wolf bites the new puppy.

On her first day with the family, Jessica runs wildly through the house, peeing on the floor and grabbing random things to run around with and chew on. She makes messes and eats the cat’s food. Soon, she’s even getting on Chelsea’s nerves.

That night, when they put Jessica in her crate, Jessica howls and cries. What can the family do with this wild puppy?

The story is based on a real dog, Jessica, who was owned by the author’s family, who are all characters in the story. I know from my own experience with my adopted rescue dog that it’s normal for a dog to cry at night in a new home. Puppies are little babies, and like small human children, they need comforting when they’re scared in a new place.

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Clifford Goes to Hollywood

Clifford

Clifford Goes to Hollywood by Norman Bridwell, 1980.

Clifford the big, red dog gets an offer to be in a movie. He passes a screen test where he has to act out different emotions, and he gets the part in the movie, so he has to go to Hollywood to accept the role, while Emily Elizabeth and her parents stay behind.

In Hollywood, Clifford is given a big, fancy doghouse and all sorts of fancy collars to wear.

However, Clifford quickly gets overwhelmed by all of the fans who mob him.

He misses Emily Elizabeth, so he runs back home to be with her.

The idea of someone going to Hollywood and missing friends back home is kind of cliche. Actually, I think the best part of the book was the screen test, where Clifford has to show different emotions. There are many books that demonstrate different types of emotions to kids, and I thought that was a nice addition to this book. The part where they show all the fancy collars that Clifford has to choose from was nice, too, because kids like to make choices, and this page is an opportunity for kids to decide which of the collars they like best.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Clifford's Family

Clifford

Clifford’s Family by Norman Bridwell, 1984.

Emily Elizabeth and her enormous dog, Clifford, were both born in a big city, although they live in a smaller town now. They decide to go back to the city and visit Clifford’s mother, who is still there.

Clifford’s brothers and sisters all live with different people now, so they decide to visit them, too. Clifford’s sister, Claudia, has become a seeing-eye dog.

His brother, Nero, is now a fire rescue dog.

Clifford’s other sister, Bonnie, lives on a farm and herds sheep.

Clifford’s father doesn’t live with his mother. He lives in a house in another town with a lot of children, and he loves playing with them.

Clifford wishes that his family could live together, but he understands that every member of his family has other people who also need them.

I thought that this book did a good job of pointing out some of the jobs that dogs do, like seeing-eye dog, rescue dog, and herding dog. Clifford and his parents are all companions animals, like most pet dogs, but his siblings all have specific jobs to do for their owners.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Clifford's Tricks

Clifford

Clifford’s Tricks by Norman Bridwell, 1969.

A new girl moves next door to Emily Elizabeth. The new girl, Martha, also has a dog, although her dog, Bruno, is a normal-sized dog, unlike Emily Elizabeth’s dog, Clifford.

Martha is competitive and brags that her dog is probably smarter than Clifford. Martha and Emily Elizabeth compare the tricks that their dogs can do, although Clifford’s tricks are different from those of normal dogs. His tricks tend to go wrong or cause problems because of his large size. For example, Bruno can retrieve a newspaper for Martha, but when Clifford tries to do the same thing, he comes back with the whole news stand.

Martha tries to show off Bruno’s bravery by getting him to walk the railing of a bridge, but Bruno doesn’t want to do it because it’s too dangerous. When Martha tries to show Bruno how easy it is, she falls off the bridge into the river. Bruno jumps in to save her and also gets into trouble.

Fortunately, Clifford is big enough to save them both.

Martha is grateful that Clifford saved her and her dog, but each girl still loves her own dog the best.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive. The edition that I have is the older edition of the book with pictures that are mostly black-and-white, except for Clifford, who is red. However, there is also a newer edition with full color pictures.