Eleanor Cameron (1912–1996)

So yeah, I read this now for the (marvelous as always) illustrations by Beth & Joe Krush and to clear up my memory of it. And as I'm going along I remember reading it once as a child but not particularly liking it (despite all the aspects that do charm like writing style, setting, fairy tale vibe...) until I get to the end and realize what's wrong.

The males are dangerously moody. Both Dirk and Peter are absolutely the kind of people who make lousy husbands and fathers. They can charm when show more they choose to, but accidentally cross them and they go cold, try to warm them up and they're more likely than not going to lose their temper and strike out.

If you see your daughter reading this, ask her what she thinks of those guys' behavior. show less

It's just not possible to recapture a read from 1969. I was not old enough to know or care about some of the science parts being really, really improbable...nay, impossible...as we had just been to the Moon and had recently landed a probe on Mars that put paid to even the dream of a Universe like the one Author Cameron created.

I loved revisiting Dave Topman and Chuck Masterson's flight to the impossible, tiny planet Basidium, all of 50,000 miles away. Their home-made rocket that traveled show more 25,000 miles an hour. Their bags od groceries to eat on the way there and back...two hours each way...two hours on Basidium, where they somehow spoke the language of the Mushroom People and solved a mystery that confounded the adult Mushroom People...the chicken that saved the day....

Nope, too old to get back there, but it was some good fun peeking back at the boyhood adventure that didn't have to make sense because what the hell actually does when you're eight or nine? It's starting to, but not quite yet does, blessedly.

I would give this to a six-year-old and read it with her. Maybe a slightly slow seven-year-old. No older than that, in today's world, and I'm not all the way sure it's even a good idea because gender roles and sex stereotyping are at the core of the story. So maybe, if like me you read it in your tinyhood, you'll smile and enjoy and keep out of reach of children. show less

This is a childhood favorite that I remember checking out multiple times from my elementary school library. Thirty-plus years later, and it still holds up very well for me!

David, an only child, is passing a routine evening at home when his father finds a notice -- printed in green ink! -- in the newspaper, advertising for a boy or a couple of boys to build a spaceship for a Very Important Mission. David enlists his best friend, Chuck, and the two are off on an incredible adventure courtesy show more of the odd but wonderful Mr. Bass.

My only quibble is the obvious sexism, but I try to remember the time in which it was written. And I don't remember feeling like the book meant that I couldn't dream of such things just because I was a girl. In any case, I think this book is still a natural for kids. It's a bit dated, but still wonderful! show less

Many fantasy series deepen as they go along; Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Cycle and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events come immediately to mind. But this final novel in Eleanor Cameron's five-book Mushroom Planet series is truly a leap. The earlier books, which came out between 1954 and 1960, are good light fun, but "Time and Mr. Bass," which appeared in 1967, is rich, deep, intense, passionate, and unforgettable. The sense of evil is similar to that in Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 "A show more Wrinkle in Time," which may have been an influence. It would be perfectly possible to read this book before the others and still thoroughly enjoy it. show less