Lauren Child

This is the third installment in the Ruby Redfort series, and it is as charming and smart as the first two books in the series. The plot is perhaps more complex than in the first two books, and the characters and their relationships with each other have a bit more dimensionality. These books are, though, generally pure fun. They contain spunk, humor, puzzles, slapstick, and adventure. What more could a kid want? Ruby is a wonderful character, and although (or perhaps because?) she is far show more from perfect, she's a great role model for boys and girls. She disrespects authority, lies, and cheats, but whatever! I wouldn't necessarily want her as my kid (or student), but she's a lot of fun and is a great example of a smart, interesting, and ambitious kid. show less

Book care, Lauren Child Style

There are plenty of how-to-take-care-of-your-books-dear-children picturebooks out there - most in varying stages of maudlin didacticism. But Lauren Child has a new and wacky take on the idea. A small boy loves books. Unfortunately, he loves them - literally - to pieces. He enjoys them in all possible ways, including with food, scissors, and glue. But one night....

He falls into his book and discovers the fairy tale characters are not happy with what he's been show more doing to them. A little book repair (and a few small adjustments to the story) later, everything is as it should be and his books will have a better life in the future.

Verdict: Funny, fresh, and entrancing, but sadly out of print

ISBN: 0786809264; Published September 2003 by Hyperion (out of print); Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist show less

Adorable and utterly relatable. It's laugh-out-loud funny, especially for me, the third child who thinks maybe her parents should've stopped there. The mother is my mother- worried about cleaning! ;) The mopey teenage brother's hygiene habits made me think of my dear brother. It's so funny you'll forget you're reading a book about a friend who has mysteriously vanished without a trace. Of course, everything turns out well in the end. This is a book worth re-reading.

First off, I LOVED the illustrations in this book! Between the looks of the two boys toys, their tv, the patterns on the adults' clothes and bed sheets- they all looked very mid-century/contemporary, which is just my style. I also liked that the characters in this story were not Caucasian but African American--it seems a lot of books with African American illustrations emphasize a specific culture and are commonly in the folklore genre, but I like that this was just a typical book that any show more kid in North America could relate to. I also liked that the adults faces were cut off, and the only parts of them shown were the torso and down. This made me think of Charles Schultz use of never showing the adults, as well as the old Muppet's cartoon which also practiced only showing the legs of adults. This book would be a great book to read to any child with a sibling, even more so a younger sibling. I liked the last line of the book when Elmore offered his younger brother any color jelly bean he'd like, but then added "Except the orange!" This line was realistic to children and funny for readers, although I hope children don't follow this example with their own siblings! show less