I have been trying to figure out a way to share all these books I read with you but still include other non-review posts on the blog. One method I have come up with was to share the reviews for an entire series (or pair) of books in one post. I will do my absolute best to keep spoilers out of these posts in case you plan to read the books, but there is a slight chance that even the synopsis of a book can give away the result of the previous book. So if you don't want to know anything at all about the later books in a series that might giveaway something in the first book STOP READING NOW!
Synopsis: ""Pb-pb-b-b-b. Pb-pb-b-b-b." With these magic vocables, Ralph the mouse revs up a dream come true--his very own motorcycle. Living in a knothole in a hotel room, young Ralph has seen plenty of families come and go, some more generous with their crumbs than others. But when young Keith and his parents check in to the hotel, Ralph gets his first chance to check out. He has always fantasized about venturing beyond the second floor, maybe even outside. Curiosity overcomes caution, and Ralph must have a go at Keith's toy motorcycle. Soon, the headstrong mouse finds himself in a pickle, when all he wanted was to ride a motorcycle. Lucky for him, the boy understands how it is. When he discovers Ralph in his thwarted attempt to abscond with the toy bike, Keith generously encourages the rodent to ride. He even teaches him the simple trick of starting the motorcycle: "You have to make a noise... pb-pb-b-b-b." The subsequent situations Ralph motors into require quick thinking and grownup-sized courage."My Review: This is such a classic book, I remember reading it as a child and now Munchkin is going to get to read it too. Even though it has been around for a while it still has the same relevance, it doesn't seem dated at all like so many other books. It seems to have been written to appeal more towards young male readers but it can definitely be enjoyed by all. I love the creativity in this book, how making the motorcycle noise makes it run. This book is filled with fun, adventure, a little danger, and of course friendship and family. This is such a fun book that will continue to stand the test of time and entertain us.
My Rating: This was such a favorite when I was a kid and I am happy that after re-reading it, that this will probably be a book that Munchkin will love as well. Even as an adult this is a fun book that will entertain everyone in the family. I give it a rating of Four Paws.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Synopsis: "Ralph, the adventurous mouse, sets out for a children's summer camp on his motorcycle after being teased and chided by his family."My Review: Even though Ralph is a mouse, I think the young readers will really be able to relate to him. I think everyone about the age of the target audience has thought about running away like Ralph did and hopefully before they actually do it they will learn from Ralph's adventures. Ralph finds out that the world really is as scary and danger filled as his mom always nagged him about. Lucky for him that he finds another lonely, motorcycle loving being to connect with and help him get back home. This is another fun adventure, though a little darker than the previous book with a few more dangers involved.
My Rating: This is a great book that really pinpoints subjects that will apply to the target group. I really enjoyed this one and can't help but give it a rating of Four Paws!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Synopsis: "In this third and final Mouse novel from Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary, Ralph heads to school to see what humans do all day . . . and to discover what the S in Ralph S. Mouse stands for!With his rowdy cousins constantly wearing out his motorcycle and the Mountain View Inn manager threatening to take care of the mouse infestation once and for all, Ralph decides it's time to get away for a while. He convinces his human friend Ryan to take him along to school, where Ralph instantly becomes the center of attention. But when Ryan's class decides to see how smart Ralph is by making him run a maze, the usually confident mouse starts to fret. What if he's not as clever as he thought?"
My Review: This is another great book that has stood the test of time and will continue to do so. I really love how these books are just as relevant today as they were when I was a kid. While this wasn't my favorite book in the trilogy, then and now, it is still a book that the target audience will really be able to relate with. In the previous book Ralph ran away, something older children and middle grade kids may have contemplated. In this book Ralph goes to school with a little boy to hopefully remove a distraction from the other mice and protect a friend who might loose his job, but it is more so a story about finding friends and how to treat friends. It also presents a great argument against judging others. All in all a very fun book and a great book to wrap up a trilogy.
My Rating: This book wasn't as action packed or dangerous as the other two books, so for me it wasn't quite as enjoyable even though it was still a very good book with a great message for the middle grade age range. I give this one a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Full Series Review: It is always a risk when you go back and read a book that you enjoyed as a child, especially as times have changed so much and continue to change so quickly, a book or series can easily become outdated and no longer relevant. Thankfully, this series can become a favorite for the next generation as well. Even though Ralph is a mouse, he faces many of the same issues kids face while growing up, he has disagreements with his mom, wants to strike out on his own and has trouble being kind to family and friends. By then end Ralph learns a lot and hopefully young readers will as well. I look forward to when Munchkin can enjoy this series too. I give the series as a whole a rating of Four Paws!
No comments:
Post a Comment