Title:  Big Bad Bruce

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Animals / Manners / Bullying / Magic

Year Published: 1977

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Bullying)

“Big Bad Bruce” is another classic tale by Bill Peet and it is about how Bruce the Bear tortures small creatures and he eventually gets what he deserves when Roxy the witch shrinks him down to the size of a chipmunk.  The lesson of this story may have not been taught right, but this book is still a treat for children to read.

Bill Peet does an excellent job at illustrating and writing the story “Big Bad Bruce.”  First, I like to talk about Bill Peet’s illustrations as they are beautiful and colorful when he illustrates Bruce to seem more like a scruffy and mischievous bear rather than a scary and vicious bear.  The image that I really enjoyed was the image of Bruce standing up on his hind legs looking for some mischief to do as he has a mischievous grin on his face.  Second, I like to talk about Bill Peet’s writing as he effectively uses a fantasy element (witchcraft) to make Bruce see everything from a chipmunk’s point of view and learns about how the other animals felt when he picked on them.  Roxy was probably the most interesting character in this story as she was the only one who was able to stand up to Bruce when he was big and I love how she creatively teaches Bruce a lesson about bullying by shrinking him down to the size of a chipmunk.

“Big Bad Bruce” is an interesting story about the consequences of teasing other people, but parents may want to avert their children about the real lesson being taught her, instead of doing what Bruce has done at the end of the book.  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to some advanced vocabulary in this book and the fact that Bruce had not really learned his lesson.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Animals / Royalty / Friendship / Adventure

Year Published: 1971

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

“How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” is another classic book from the creative mind of Bill Peet and is about a friendly dragon named Droofus who ends up being the friendliest dragon ever. “How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” may be a bit tedious for some children who want action, but it is still an instant classic for many children to read.

Bill Peet’s story about a friendly dragon is a great tale for many children who love reading about dragons and mythical creatures. The scene in this book that stuck out the most was where Droofus saves a grasshopper from being eaten by a spider and that is where Droofus contemplates on whether or not he should eat the grasshopper. Of course, Droofus decides to not eat the grasshopper and goes on a diet of grass, which proves how humane Droofus becomes as the story progresses. Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful, especially of the images of Droofus flying over the countryside and you can see the old fashioned houses as Droofus flies over them.

“How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” is a great book about friendship and how kindness can make one a happy person that many children will read over and over again for many years. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since I do not see anything that would be inappropriate for young children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Winter Solstice / Yuletide (December 21): Read any book that takes place in December OR with ice or snow on the cover OR that revolves around the (summer or winter) equinox OR a collection of poetry by Hafez.

Stick Man is a sweet book with stick man played out the role as a stick but all he wants is to go home. 

A read a loud book for children. 

(original review, 2009)


Da neigt sich die Stunde und rührt mich an
mit klarem, metallenem Schlag:
mir zittern die Sinne. Ich fühle: ich kann -
und ich fasse den plastischen Tag.

Nichts war noch vollendet, eh ich es erschaut,
ein jedes Werden stand still.
Meine Blicke sind reif, und wie eine Braut
kommt jedem das Ding, das er will.

Nichts ist mir zu klein, und ich lieb es trotzdem
und mal es auf Goldgrund und groß
und halte es hoch, und ich weiß nicht wem
löst es die Seele los...


In “Das Stundenbuch” von Rainer Maria Rilke.

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

A friend of mine many eons ago said "all we have left to do is cross the T's and dot the I's". I was skeptical then and now I just laugh. He liked to look through a telescope and he believed what he thought he saw. There has been a theory put forward, describing the moment of and just after the big bang, when not only was matter flung outwards from the explosion, but the basic geometric substance of "space" was also stretched and may even have been CREATED at that point. It's like 2 grapes in a bowl of jello - stretch the jello and those grapes move apart.

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.