1977 Honor Book
"With inimitable style, Steig tells the story of a mouse, Abelard Hassam di Chirico Flint, who gets swept away in a driving rainstorm while rescuing his wife's scarf and winds up stranded on a river island for a year. Abel isn't just any mouse. He's a fastidious Edwardian dandy whose inherited wealth ensures the leisurely comforts he takes such pleasure in. But Abel's high-toned life of leisure conceals a soul full of true grit: once faced with the necessity of surviving. Abel rises to the challenge."
Yawn....another survival story...seems this is a popular theme for Newberys. Some of them, like Hatchet, I really like because they are written in an engaging way. This one...not so much. Although I was able to start and finish it on the same day, I found it very hard to stay focused on it.
There was a part in this book that really amused me. Hee hee, ok, so it's really immature...but, here goes...
"This time he proceeded to methodically, not in nervous haste. He went first to defecate, behind a rock, though no one was watching."
Hee hee, defecate. First, the word is funny....especially in a kids book. We all know it means poop - yet he uses the word defecate. Second, it just kinda comes out of nowhere - not something necessary to the story line. Lol, stuff like this stands out to me when I find the story boring, I guess.
Kids who love animal stories might enjoy this book - my ten year old for example - but I'm not a big fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment