This story is about a little girl who lives in an old house where her parents are the caretakers and tourguides. One day, while trying to escape a horde of tourists, she accidentally wakes the mischievous ghost of Wild Robert.

This was another great story by an author I truly admire. Read it! The illustrations are great, too.

Freeing the dragon in the first book (My Father's Dragon) was only half the journey. Elmer now needs to get back home. The dragon is so thankful he offers the boy a ride. But when a storm blows them off course, they find themselves on an island with canaries that are dieing of curiosity. Can they help the birds and still get Elmer home in time for his father's birthday?

This book is a fun sequel to the original. It doesn't quite hold up to the nonsensical fun of the first one, but is still a great read. Early readers will enjoy being able to get through the short chapters themselves and should enjoy the plot and characters.

This series is the perfect series to use to introduce kids to reading. They'll be able to handle the story and characters well and enjoy the journey to another world. Pick them up today and start them on the road to exploring other worlds through books.

Elmer And The Dragon by Ruth Stills Gannet

Have you ever ridden on a dragon? This book is about Elmer and the dragon. After Elmer rescued the dragon from Wild Island the dragon was going to fly Elmer home. But a storm hit and blew Elmer and the Dragon off course. They landed on a sandbar a couple yards from an island. The next morning Elmer and the Dragon went to the island. When they got to the island the Dragon said ," I'm stiff." Will Elmer and the Dragon get off the island?

I liked the part when the Dragon ate some tangerine peels and said they were delicious. It was kind of funny because tangerine peels would be gross to eat!

I think the author was trying to show people perseverance. Elmer and the Dragon were trying to go home when the storm hit. Even though they ended up on a sandbar, they still kept trying to get home.

I remember hearing these stories as a child and loving them, now my son is loving them too. I would recommend these to kids ready to listen to simple chapter books. The stories are cleverly written so adults can enjoy the reading too. We like to read this series aloud to the kids, and if you read one they will want you to read all of them! Some nice illustrations accompany the stories.

Thumbelina is not normal girl she is about the size of your thumb, but don't let her height mistake you she can do alot of things other people can't do. Like she can fit into small spaces that you can't. So if you like books that are about people doing extremely different things that you don't think that can do then this is the book right for you to read. This book will amaze your eyes with the colorful pictures inside, and with the amazing things Thumbelina can do.

Hans Christian Andersen's story of Thumbeline is so endearing that it's no wonder that so many authors have written their own versions of it and so many illustrators have had a go at making tiny Thumbeline come to life. This version, translated by Anthea Bell and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger is brimming with charm, rustic folk sensibilities, kindness and compassion spiked with just the right amount of perilous adventure to make it interesting, and a lovely magical feel. The story is well told in satisfyingly descriptive language. The illustrations are superb! Zwerger does a wonderful job with all of the animal characters that Thumbeline encounters and manages to infuse them with emotion and intelligence as well as country charm. Little red-haired Thumbeline is delicate and sweet in several lovely costumes with a peasant feel to them. You know the tale...a woman tells a witch that she wants a "tiny child" and the magic gives her exactly what she wishes for, a tiny child no bigger than her thumb. Thumbeline is born from the heart of a tulip. She's so beautiful and sweet that every small suitor in the neighborhood wants her hand in marriage, including a toad, a mole and a June beetle. They are not interested in the fact that she does not want to marry them! She gets help from other wee folk in the woodland community and makes a good friend when she saves the life of a swallow. The story ends happily for Thumbeline. It may be desirable to point out to your young ones that not every unattached female needs to find a husband, especially very young ones like Thumbeline, and that kidnapping and force are not true ways to get a girl to marry you! Children are smart enough to know that but it's still a good idea to talk over the odd concepts that a child may be thinking about after you read this story. I love this old-fashioned story and this re-telling adds beautifully to its charm and therefore justifies its conception.

The familiar Hans Christian Andersen story of Thumbelina has received the royal treatment from Susan Jeffers. Her large, lovely pictures make this seem like you are stepping into the story for the first time. Thumbelina is so dainty and sweet that it's no wonder the toad wishes to marry her but poor Thumbelina has a harrowing time escaping from her warty suitor. Share a trumpet vine blossom with Thumbelina, a pair of hummingbirds and a fat bumble bee or take a ride with her on the back of a gallant swallow. This whole story is enchanting from start to finish and the pictures are a delight!

Lily loves Blue Kangaroo, and tells him so every night as she goes to bed. But over a period of time Lily receives more stuffed animals and Blue Kangaroo feels more and more neglected, until one night he gets bumped out of bed and decides to go sleep with Lily's little brother. Lily's response lets Blue Kangaroo know he is first in her heart.

Bright, colorful and humorous watercolor illustrations add to the enjoyment.

This book is great. Adorable story, lovely illustrations. My daughter loves it and she's 4. Especially the part about the little brother who takes the favorite toy (her brother is 2) She comes up with a great solution to get it back. Just a good all-around preschool story book in every way.

This charming and very true to life story of a displaced favorite toy has been my daughter's favorite for months now, and happily it's very fun to read out loud over and over again. My 7 year old son also enjoys reading it to his little sister. The illustrations are fetching and the tale is a sweet one. I'm about to click away to find more books by Emma Chichester Clark.

Lily has been very naughty lately -- leaving the water to overflow all over the floor, goading the cat into destroying the curtains, fighting with her previously perfectly happy little brother, throwing clothes out the bedroom window. Each time she blames her beloved pal. When Lily's mother eventually decides that Blue Kangaroo had better spend the night downstairs, he takes matters into his own hands and finds a way to bring peace to the household. What a clever blue kangaroo.

Bright, colorful and humorous watercolor illustrations add to the enjoyment.

I love this book! It's a sweet tale about a little girl who gets keeps getting in trouble and keeps blaming it all on her stuffed friend, Blue Kangaroo. Her mother handles the situation perfectly and the little girl learns a valuable lesson in the end. It's really a sweet book - both my girls just love it!

My four year old daughter and I LOVED this collection of toy stories. I read two books or stories to my daughter before bedtime each night and she was very eager for more stories from this book these past few nights. I liked the fact that the stories were short enough to read at bedtime. The illustrations were very colorful and sweet. This book might be more of a girl storybook as there are several books about dolls but if your child loves stories about toys that come alive and have adventures, this is the book for you!

We put this book in our two-year-old daughter's Easter basket, but it would be a fun gift any time. The storyline is cute--everyone knows dogs love to chase rabbits!--& the rabbits' oneupsdogship, as shown in the illustrations, is funny for both children & adults. The pull-the-tabs feature definitely adds to the story, especially when Patch finds an unexpected surprise in the rabbit hole & when he dreams of chasing rabbits. The illustrations are bright without being gaudy & appeal to both my daughter & me. I did think that a page of the story seemed to be out of order, but figured it was due to the desire to keep all the pull-tabs on the right-hand pages. But...that does make it hard for lefties to move the tabs! All in all, though, a fun book, & I'd recommend it for anyone.

As a first time reviewer I was compelled to put my two cents in about this book. I was unlucky to come across this in my niece's house and forced, (against my will, I may add) to read it aloud to her. Every page I read was more horrifying than the last. Not only do the terrible antics of these kids get prime time play but they show total disregard for their parents. And, if that isn't enough, the parents show pure disregard for the kids and have the wonderful idea of giving these kids to the zoo. That will teach them, right? Wrong. After they alleniate all the animals these kids are sacrficed to the lions. Now, what is this supposed to exemplify? That bad kids get sent away. That parents, who are supposed to provide support, guidance, love and boundaries, decide to feed their kids to the lions? Okay, so the kids get scared out of being naughty -- only to come home and be treated like slaves by their parents. But the last line of the book leads you to believe that the kids will indeed get their revenge. Whatever happened to storybook endings?

As a lover of children's fiction, I was totally outraged by this book and can only applaud the fact that it is out of print. Hurrah.

This book will make you appreciate your own children!!!!!!