Honk

Author: Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrator: Henry Cole

One-Sentence Plot Summary: A swan becomes an expert ballet dancer and sneaks into a Parisian ballet performance and steals the show.

Edwards does an excellent job creating a main character that you really root for, and a villain that you hate. The swan, Mimi, goes to outrageous lengths to try to get past the angry stage manager into the ballet performance. There is a moment when it appears that all is lost, and then an unexpected door opens, literally. The dialogue is powerful and fun to read.

This story is very imaginative and creative. The pictures are excellent and funny.

Rating: 4 stars

Young Larry

Author: Daniel Pinkwater

Illustrator: Jill Pinkwater

One-Sentence Plot Summary: A polar bear mistakenly floats down to New Jersey where he gets a job as a lifeguard and saves the life of a wealthy man.

Pinkwater has a very unique style that is hilarious at times and bizarre at others. This book is a mixture of both.

The best part of this book is the dialogue. Larry has interesting exchanges with his mother, his brother, and the various humans he encounters on his journey. The plot is not really driven by a conflict, unless you count the conflict of a large polar bear trying to blend in to a human world.

The author is very imaginative, and the plot is anything but predictable. The humans are not terrified of Larry, and they do no question how he learned to speak English or ended up in New Jersey. But he eventually loses his job, when the head lifeguard says, "I have been informed, polar bears eat people."

Larry's response: "I prefer to eat muffins. Besides, I was told that humans taste funny."

The pictures are very basic. This is a book driven by the narrative, not the visuals.

Rating: 4 stars