Dick King-Smith (1922–2011)

“Fanciful” Harry Holdsworth is delighted to find out that an unknown Great-Uncle has left him “his most cherished possession” in his will. He dreams of a mansion, motor vehicles, and “an actual treasure chest”. Initially, he is disappointed to receive instead only Madison, an African Grey parrot. But Madison turns out to be very talkative and an ideal companion- intelligent, competitive, witty. So Harry is devastated when Mad interrupts a burglary in the house, and gets himself show more stolen instead…

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This is a story with great characters, and a fast-moving (if fairly predictable) plot.
After Mad gets stolen, the story continues to follow both him and the Holdsworth family, as they try to adapt to life without each other. Mad escapes, but struggles to find his way home. Harry mopes about feeling lonely, while Mr. Holdsworth makes every effort to find Mad. Eventually Mr Holdsworth decides on a different solution, which has surprising consequences.

It is really the character of Mad who makes this book so enjoyable. He learned to speak by spending the first half of his life with Harry’s Great-Uncle, a Linguistics Professor. Here he also watched numerous movies, picked up a variety of accents, and developed numerous skills and tastes which are beneficial to him fitting in with the whole Holdsworth family. The passages describing how they all spend their leisure time together are always fun to read.

From this book the reader can learn a lot about some of the finer points of American culture. Harry’s Great-Uncle George lived in America, while Harry and his family are Londoners. So when Mad makes the transfer to the other side of the world, lots of funny little misunderstandings crop up. For example, Harry’s mother keeps worrying about whether Mad is toilet-trained. Harry talks (incomprehensibly to Mad) about ‘going to the lav’, while Madison confuses them by talking about ‘going to the bathroom’. Similar complications arise with ‘cookies’ and ‘biscuits’, but everybody manages to understand and enjoy the menu Madison puts together for Thanksgiving!

I received this book for a birthday at about the age of 8, when my exasperated mother walked into a bookstore and complained that her daughter had read everything and could the assistant recommend anything new? I have read it probably about ten times since then, and though I long ago memorised all the jokes, reading it still makes me smile. show less

I don’t even know how many times I’ve read this book—dozens when I was in elementary school, and every few years as an adult. It was my favorite of Dick King-Smith’s books when I was a kid and even today it never fails to charm. Martin the cat is a naive but lovable main, well-intentioned but not the brightest bulb in the box, but so kind and curious about the world, and committed to living his life on his terms—similar to Ferdinand the Bull. Reading this today I found the story to show more be as tight as it ever was, with a fantastic narrative and gentle humor that still resonates. When I was younger I definitely missed the deeper message of the value of freedom and personal choice. No matter—I loved it then, and I appreciate it on a deeper level now. And finally, the illustrations are still such a part of my experience of the book, and as I was reading I realized I’d memorized them over the years and could anticipate which was up next just as much as I remembered certain lines and scenes. One of the more perfect pairings in an already perfect book. show less

I have a special attachment to this book. I bought it on holiday not long after it came out and read it obsessively. I'm not sure WHY I liked it so particularly, though it is good - the story's pretty simple, but it has some lovely little touches, like talking about Henny trying fruit gums for the first time.

Anyway, I reread it yesterday, after spending months online trying to find out what it was called. It's still utterly charming. It's completely divorced from reality, of course, but I show more tend to like my children's lit just that. Some people might find it a bit too cute and I understand that, but sometimes everyone needs to read a simple story about an old lady and a dog with a happy ending. After a tough few months, I certainly do!

Please read this to your children, it is worth it. show less

It's been many years since I read and loved the Sophie books. They are, alas, now out of print in the US. However, I was scrambling to find something for a very reluctant reader who is only interested in farming and thought that this just might click, although it's a very long-shot to ask a 2nd grade boy to be interested in the adventures of a four year old girl.

Sophie is small, sturdy, and determined. And what she's most determined about is that she is going to be a lady farmer. She will show more have a cow, two hens, a pony and a spotty pig. Meanwhile though, she practices on the snails, wood lice, and other small creatures in the backyard. The book contains a selection of chapter-length stories as Sophie interacts with her older twin brothers, "helps" Daddy with a bad back, and has a run-in with the new neighboring girl, Dawn.

This has a higher reading level than the average chapter book, and quite a few Britishisms. Sophie is a unique and funny character, and her stubborn refusal to bow to the wishes of her family and neighbors in being more ladylike, giving up her "farm" of small creatures, or overlook what she perceives as injustice will charm readers who can sympathize with adults who just don't understand.

Verdict: But is it worth digging out of the back shelves or storage for use in a book club? Or looking for UK editions to add to the library? There was only one copy in my consortium (with a very grotty cover - not the one pictured), so I had to place inter-library loan requests. I ended up with about 5 copies and I think only 1 checked out. They all had the old, ugly cover though. I'm afraid this book's time has passed. show less