Review of "My Dear Mr. Churchill," by Walter Graebner

 Review of

My Dear Mr. Churchill, by Walter Graebner

Three out of five stars

Extremely laudatory

 The author is obviously smitten with Winston Churchill, to his credit, he admits it in the foreword. The lead sentence in the second-to-the-last paragraph is, “The story is about a man so great that I suppose another like him will not live in the next century, a man that no one could know without loving.” When a biographer utters a statement like that, it is clear that one must read with a bit of caution.

 The author knew Churchill well, he describes many events that he shared with Churchill, both public and private. There is a bit of insight into the private life of Churchill, although most of what is related is common knowledge. Despite the weight Churchill had in the path of history, most of the text deals with what Churchill did in private. He was a dog lover, a fairly talented painter and did a great deal of the work on his estates himself.

 If you read this book while keeping the perspective of the author in mind, this isn’t a bad book. Otherwise, you may find yourself wondering if the other renditions of Churchill as a bit of a gruff drunk weren’t quite true.

Review of "Wiggly Squiggly," by Jeanne Willis

 Review of

Wiggly Squiggly, by Jeanne Willis ISBN 0763567434

Five out of five stars

Different perspective on the spider in the house

The narrator is the grandchild of a man that was once an intrepid mountaineer. One day the grandfather sets out on a solitary mission to climb a very difficult mountain. Unknown to him, there is a valley on the other side of the peak that is the home of a family of monsters. There is the father, mother and children, all comfortable in their dwelling and extremely large.

 When the grandfather enters their valley, he is mistaken for a spider-like creature with his rope and ability to dangle on it. The children react the way human children often do where there is the sudden appearance of a spider. Fortunately, their cries of “Smash it!” are not acted on. Eventually, the grandfather manages to parachute back down off the mountain, when he does the monsters consider him a butterfly and let him go.

 This book is an unusual expression of the sudden appearance of a bug-like creature that is considered frightful. In this case it is the human that fills the role of the bug and the monsters the role of the human.

Review of "Fractured Fables," by Image Comics

 Review of

Fractured Fables, by Image Comics

Five out of five stars

Five classic tales reclassified

 Most people are very familiar with the classic fairy tales. So much so, that they can grow a little stale after having been read many times. In this comic, five of those tales are reimaged into another form. In “Little Red Riding Hood,” the wolf does his typical chase of the girl only to encounter her grandmother, a martial arts instructor. Needless to say, the wolf howling at the end.

The next one is a modification of “Rumplestiltskin,” where he does his thing in making gold, from straw. The little imp asks for the woman’s newborn son, but when he arrives he finds the mother so stupid that he self-destructs in frustration. My favorite is a takeoff on “Rapunzel” called “Raponsel.” It is a case of mistaken identity that involves some very silly misunderstandings, including the fundamental mispronunciation of a name. The last is a wordless cartoon version of “Hey Diddle Diddle” that takes place in front of some storefronts.

 Enjoyable for the twisted, yet humorous way some classics are bent, this is a quick, fun read.

Review of "The Underground Dance," by Tony Mitton

 Review of

The Underground Dance, by Tony Mitton ISBN 0763567345

Three out of five stars

Could have been a great book

 This book could have been an excellent book for children, the problem is one great flaw. The basic premise is to describe creatures and their actions that take place underground. From the human miner to the mole to the subway train and the human attendants to worms, seeds and rabbits. All of that is educational and entertaining.

 However, many of the pages have collections of bones, specifically human femurs and others of appendages. They are collected in small piles and due to the numbers in those collections, the indication is that are from more than one human. There is no reference to the bones in the text, so there appears to be no explicit reason for their inclusion. Specifically in a book for children. Other than that, this book would be very suitable for reading to children. If that is done, the reader will have to be able to explain the purpose of the bones.

Review of "The Wolf’s Story," by Brenda Parkes

 Review of

The Wolf’s Story, by Brenda Parkes ISBN 0763567477

Five out of five stars

Great modification of the classic story

 The story of the wolf and the three little pigs is a classic story for children, yet the main point of the story is often lost. The pigs that built their houses out of straw and sticks were in fact lazy and it was the pig that built his out of bricks that was the responsible one. When danger threatens, the first two run to the third for the protection of his solidly built house. This is an important lesson in building well and for the future.

 This book is an entertaining modification of that basic story. In this case, the wolf is the owner of a home improvement company and when he destroys the houses of straw and sticks, he is simply demonstrating the flaws in their construction techniques. Character witnesses from other fairy tales also give their testimony on behalf of the wolf.

 The large size of the book makes this an excellent choice for reading circles where someone reads the book to a group of young children. The images and the text can be seen for some distance. The form of the text is that of groups of four lines with basic rhyming of at least the second and fourth lines. If you are looking for books that are entertaining and catch the eye, this one is an excellent choice.

Review of "Tales of the Hoofengoofers!" by Alan Lance Andersen

 Review of

Tales of the Hoofengoofers! by Alan Lance Andersen

Five out of five stars

Stories of little people of the forests and meadows

 Hoofengoofers are like fairies and elves, in that they live in the wild, are very small (about 17 inches tall) and the men have long beards. They are also magical, capable of delivering valuable items to the humans that they like or take pity on. The author is a native of Iowa, so the location context is rural Iowa. As a lifelong resident of Iowa, I found the references to familiar locations pleasant.

 Given the powers of the Hoofengoofers, the stories are very similar to those of European vintage featuring faeries and elves. They appear in dreams and reveal their presence when needed. These stories will enthrall children, they can be considered very lengthy bedtime stories as there is always a happy ending for the good people.

 It you are looking for some stories of little magical people that are a little bit different, then this is the book for you.

Review of "The Katzenjammer Kids: Early Strips in Full Color," by Rudolph Dirks

 Review of

The Katzenjammer Kids: Early Strips in Full Color, by Rudolph Dirks ISBN 0486230058

Three out of five stars

Exaggerated behavior, exaggerated punishment

 The Katzenjammer Kids was a comic strip that started in December of 1897 and featured two very unruly children named Hans and Fritz. The dialog was a form of pidgin English. For example, on page 14 there is the dialog balloon, “Dot’s just like a woman! She had to go und tell!” Hans and Fritz are very bad, doing things like cutting the bottom off a hot air balloon so only the sides of the basket go up, cutting the legs of a chair so that it collapses and putting a cat in a large bowl of dough.

 They never get away with it and their punishment is extreme. They are frequently kicked by an adult in their backsides and most of the two-page short stories end with them getting a major spanking that sometimes includes a stout board.

 This is definitely humor that is based on an ethnic cliché and is very dated. From the name and the dialog, it is clear that the family is German, and the cliché was that German parents were extremely strict and quick to implement strong corporal punishment. Therefore, this book must be read as a history lesson regarding what was considered acceptable humor at the start of the twentieth century.