Diane Goode

A young Brooklyn boy decides to take his mother on a picnic in Prospect Park, having discovered the "perfect spot." But, as is so often the case, nothing goes quite as planned, and one disaster after another force the boy and his mother to keep moving on. With a flock of wild ducks, five galloping riders on horseback, and some unlooked-for rain, it looks like the picnic is off! Or is it...?

A charming story that emphasizes the virtue of accepting unexpected difficulties with aplomb, and show more "making lemonade from lemons," Diane Goode's The Most Perfect Spot will entertain any young reader who has set out to do something, only to find that the best-laid plans can go awry. I liked the fact that something good comes from disaster, and appreciated the humorous illustrations, which depicted an early twentieth-century New York (1930s, perhaps?). All in all, a delightful book! show less

A lovely pocket-sized Christmas book! The illustrations are quite beautiful and carry a slight vintage feel, and these pictures, combined with the lyrics of several classic Christmas songs, make for a charming experience. I am also impressed by their choice of carols. They have such well-known songs as “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night,” but they also include “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella” and “Whence Comes This Rush of Wings.” I can think of only two things that would show more improve this book: adding in the music instead of just the words, and including more verses for some of these songs. All in all, delightful! show less

Goode takes her inspiration from a 1802 spelling primer that had the side benefit of teaching children table manners. She contrasts her old-fashioned text ("Pick not thy teeth at the table") with illustrations of two old-fashioned families at the table -- some of whom are following the rules and some of whom are not. What makes it even better are some rules in teeny tiny type that we see the family cat and dog breaking with gusto. This combination of history, wit, and humor makes for the show more best book on manners I've seen in quite some time. show less

A pretty bland, straightforward retelling of Cinderella does not benefit from portraying all the characters as sort of ugly dogs who act exactly like people. The dry text makes no attempt to find humor from the presence of all the dogs, not even making any dog puns. Why bother then, huh?

My daughter got no joy from this when she was two and rarely revisited this book over the years.

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Rated “Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod and Adelia.