n b
n
Are you looking for a funny book, one that will make you
laugh out loud,
in fact, one that would be great to be read out
loud? Looking for
Bobowicz, by the zany and a bit off kilter - Daniel
Pinkwater, is a
hilarious read that begins when Nick and his parents
move to Hoboken.
He's not too sure about this move since he discovers
that his bike has
been stolen (never mind that it's an old bike with
painted pink flowers on
it). Then, he hears about a mysterious phantom
who takes people's
belongings, but leaves parts of tuna sandwiches
behind.
I found myself laughing out loud when Nick met his
new friends, Bruno and
Loretta. Bruno has apparently taken a vow of
silence, but when Loretta met
Nick, she turns to Bruno and says, "Bruno, when
did you take the vow of
silence?" Bruno answers Loretta and gets mad at
himself for breaking this
vow and says that he has to start all over again.
Nick and Loretta begin
a conversation when Loretta asks Bruno another
question, which he answers.
So, now Bruno has to begin again. Pinkwater's
characterization of these
three kids plays off each other with a great amount
of humor that is sure
to make any kid, young or old, smile.
There are other off-beat characters in the book that
bring humor and
mystery to the story. The three are trying to
discover if the phantom, or
someone else, took Nick's bike. When their favorite
comic books are
stolen, they become very serious at solving this
mystery. Nick finds an
old newspaper clipping in his basement that talks
about a very large
chicken that lived in Hoboken years ago. The size of
this chicken resulted
from an experiment and they discover that the bird
was owned by a young
boy by the name of Arthur Bobowicz. The three decide
that if they can find
Bobowicz, they'll find an answer to the phantom and
maybe the chicken.
(This story is kind of a continuation of The Hoboken
Chicken Emergency
which was written back in the 70's and a movie was
made from the book.)
One peculiar character in the book that really hit
home with me was Vic
Trola who plays old songs on the radio. Many old
songs are listed in the
book, but one song holds a central theme throughout.
It's a chicken song.
Of course there is a reason for this and the reader
will just have to find
out for himself. But I found that the songs
listed throughout the book
are truly old songs and the chicken song is a song
that my grandpa used to
sing to me when I was very young.
So, read the book, smile all the way through and try
to solve this
mystery. But, I'm warning you, that you're in
for some surprises toward
the end. I think that besides the fun, and funny,
way Pinkwater has
written this story, and my discovery of an old
family song, there is an
alternate theme here. The comics that the kids love
to read are written
from some of the greatest classics ever written.
Well, these kids soon
discover that the books the comics are based on are
much, much better! Way
to go, Mr. Pinkwater! This is a great book for all
ages, young and old,
read silently or aloud.
n b
n
Kitten's First Full Moon, by the celebrated Kevin
Henkes, is a most
unusual picture book. The pictures are simply drawn
in shades of grays and
black and the text is bold and simple as well.
Kitten is anxious to get
the large bowl of milk that seems to be
"waiting" high in the sky. Kitten
jumps to reach it, chases it and even climbs to
reach it. What Kitten
doesn't realize is that the large moon will only
hover in the sky and
reflect itself in the pond. But after resigning
herself to giving up, she
finds a surprise "waiting" for her back at
home. This is one adventure
that youngsters will revisit again and again. And
once again, Mr. Henkes
has written a masterpiece in simple majesty! This
is perfect for kitten -
or milk - lovers ages 3 to 6.
n b
n