Homer Price (1943)

I loved this as a kid, and while its lack of subtlety is more grating as an adult, the doughnut machine fiasco still makes me *laugh* and *laugh. ( )

4 ( )

How can I explain the smile on my face and the delight in my heart when I remember this book? A true classic for us 1950s children. The doughnut machine, the ball-of-string contest, the pageant with the "edible fungus growing in the wilderness." I can't pick a favorite. Highest recommendation. ( )

Wonderful stuff! I remember reading this one on a family vacation. I remember thinking how I could build the donut machine. ( )

This is an episodic children's book, typical of the time period in which it was written. There is no plot running through the story but instead each chapter (there are 6) describes an adventure of Homer's. Homer's life in the 1940s is one of freedom and childhood naivete. His escapades border on the outlandish and that makes them all that much more fun, but a little less believable. I've read this book three times now and I never get tired of it. I love the episode where the suburb is built with identical houses and no one can find their own homes and the 8yo loved the doughnut maker goes out of control episode. The 8yo thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think he's going to be a fan of other books in this same genre. He already loves Henry Huggins, and I have yet to introduce him to The Great Brain, Soup and Henry Reed. This book is similar to the others I mentioned and will be enjoyed by those who enjoy these stories of old-fashioned boyhood. While I really enjoy this book I think it just misses the mark to being great instead of good. ( )