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

Title:  The Caboose Who Got Loose

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Trains / Traveling / Children's / Adventure

Year Published: 1971

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a great story from the creative mind of Bill Peet about a small caboose named Katy who wants to escape her life as a caboose and live happily in a peaceful place. “The Caboose Who Got Loose” may be a bit tedious for some children, but it is still a cute little story nonetheless. 

Bill Peet’s story about a caboose who wants to live a peaceful life in the countryside is a great tale for many children. Children will feel for Katy’s sadness at being a mere caboose and not having a peaceful life of her own. Bill Peet’s writing is highly creative as he narrates the story in a rhyming prose that fits the mood of the story perfectly. Bill Peet’s illustrations are always the highlights in his books and this is certainly no exception. The characters are drawn in a similar fashion as “The Brave Little Toaster” as the cabooses and the houses have windows for eyes. 



“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a cute story about how one must be satisfied with what life brings us and will definitely interest many children who love books about trains and how to love life. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate about the story.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Animals / Bullying / Children's / Individuality

Year Published: 1973

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Bullying)

“The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock” is a children’s book about self-confidence from the popular children’s author, Bill Peet. This book details Prewitt’s, a peacock, dilemma when his tail, at first was scrawny, becomes a horrifying looking tail over a matter of days! This children’s book is truly a unique treat to read as you would never imagine a tail forming into a scary face over time and that will definitely catch any child’s attention. 

Bill Peet does an excellent job with both the illustrations and the writing for the story. Bill Peet’s illustrations are vibrant and beautiful as he effectively draws the trees in the jungle in a scraggly way. The image that is the highlight in this book is the image of Prewitt’s tail. Prewitt’s tail is certainly a sight to see as Bill Peet draws Prewitt’s tail with two angry looking blue eyes and a frightening looking jagged mouth with sharp looking greenish teeth. Also, I thought that the clutching feathery claws added an even spookier effect as they really look like they are going to grab you real quick. Bill Peet’s writing is excellent as he tells the story of a peacock named Prewitt who at first lost confidence in himself because of his tail, but then gains it back when he realizes that his scary looking tail makes him unique from the other peacocks. I also loved the way that Prewitt defended his tail against the other peacocks stating that he would rather have a tai that is scary-looking than to have no tail. 



Parents should know that the way that the other peacocks mistreated Prewitt because of his tail might concern young children. Even after Prewitt’s tail had grown, the other peacocks still mistreated Prewitt because his tail was different from the others. But, the story does have a happy ending as the other peacocks learn to accept Prewitt’s “special” tail after it saves their lives. Parents should discuss to their children about the importance of individuality as Prewitt expresses his individuality by standing up for his tail.

“The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock” is probably one of Bill Peet’s most lovable books as it expresses the value of individuality. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since this book would be a tad bit too long for smaller children to get through.


Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales and Other Stories: Thumbelina, the Talking Eggs, The Fisherman and His Wife, the Emperor and the Nightingale

Author:  Rabbit Ears

Genre:  China / Fairy Tale / Folktale / Magic / Animals

Year Published: 2006

Year Read: 2009

Series: Rabbit Ears Treasury

Publisher:  Listening Library (Audio)

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Rude Behavior and Intense Moments)

When I first heard that Rabbit Ears was finally releasing their classic stories on audio CDs, I was so excited and happy because not only will I have the pleasure of listening to these fantastic classics over and over again, but now everyone will have a chance to listen to this fantastic series! “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is an audio cd that is full of various fairy tales created by Rabbit Ears and with a vast array of famous celebrities along with engaging music for each story, this audio cd is a delightful treat for both children and adults!

Since I have reviewed half of these stories already, I am just going to briefly summarize each story on this audio cd:

The Fisherman and his Wife 
Told by: Jodie Foster
Music by: Van Dyke Parks
In this Brothers Grimm tale, a meek fisherman stumbles upon a magical flounder who promises the poor fisherman that he will grant him several wishes if he frees him. When the Fisherman told his wife about this, his wife suddenly gets greedy and she starts wishing like crazy.

The Talking Eggs
Told by: Sissy Spacek
Music by: Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil
A kind girl named Blanchett learns about the importance of being kind towards other and how it brings its own rewards.

Thumbelina
Told by: Kelly McGillis
Music by: Mark Isham
A tiny little girl named Thumbelina, who is no bigger than a thumb goes on a wild adventure in the outside world that changes her life forever.

The Emperor and the Nightingale
Told by: Glenn Close
Music by: Mark Isham
An Emperor learns about the importance of the real thing when the real nightingale has to save the Emperor from a horrible fate.




Oh my goodness!! Never would I have thought that I would enjoy this series now as much as I did as a child! Every narrator on this audio CD has greatly contributed enough excitement and tenderness to each of these stories that will have any child and adult listening to this series over and over again! Out of all four of these stories presented in this audio cd, my favorites were “The Talking Eggs” and “The Emperor and the Nightingale.” In “The Talking Eggs” Sissy Spacek has indeed done an excellent job at narrating this story as she provides a Southern flair to the story and actually puts so much emotion in her narration whenever she is enacting a character yelling or being soft-hearted. Micheal Doucet dit Beausoleil’s music is clearly catchy and inspiring as it has a slight country theme that will have many children toe-tapping to the music until the very end of the story! In “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” Glenn Close does a splendid job at narrating this story as she sounds extremely tender and soothing and Mark Isham’s music provides a magnificent presentation of Chinese inspired music that will have everyone be mesmerized by the music.

The only problem I had with this audio CD was that it did not come with a book or in this case, books, to accompany each story. For anyone who has grown up with the Rabbit Ears series since they were children might possibly be disappointed in not receiving a book to go with each story. However, because the celebrities’ narrations are so effective and creative, this audio cd is still a treat to listen to. 

Overall “Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales” is a fantastic audio cd for both children and adults who love reading old classics and fairytales and will be an instant treat for many years!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog