A read aloud with super appeal! ( )

What a fun book!! I love the simple language and the easy to follow story. Fleming does an excellent job of including small little educational tidbits that don't detract from the story. In fact, I could see using this story as a jumping off point for some early-childhood type educational materials. It's cute and fun, and I for one really want to try the fudge recipe at the end of it! This is one of the first older books I've read that I actually enjoyed, and it's so short it's easy to get through! It's very different from the movie and still incredibly enjoyable. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, and probably enjoyed it more than I ever did the movie starring Dick Van Dyke. The movie was “loosely based” on the book, so it’s almost a different story.

It came as a surprise to me that Ian Fleming, the creator of 007, and himself a member of the Intelligence Service, was the author of this delightful story. As it happens, this book was in a library of books we bought at an estate sale any years ago.

The plot is about a simple, poor, British inventor that sells (or licenses) his candy invention/recipe to Skrumshus (sic) Limited, the candy company, buys a soon-to-be-scrapped former race car, and, after restoring it to health, goes on holiday and adventure with his family. In the Adventure holiday, they discover the car’s magical personality, bring criminals to justice, and make lifelong friends.

Fleming writes with an avuncular style, throwing in educational tidbits and humorous asides. It is almost like he wrote a clean spy novel for children. I smiled at his wit throughout the story and I am loaning the book to my elementary-school-aged grandchildren. It is a book worthy of out-loud reading, and, indeed, I read it out loud to my own children when they were younger.

Lastly, John Burningham’s illustrations are straightforward, deft, and beautiful.

Prefer the musical and movie. ( )

If you're looking for a tale of sex, booze , and spies than this Ian Fleming tale isn't for you. This does have plenty of adventure, secrets, and magic though. ( )