Every parent knows that children depend on certain books being read to them ritualistically nearly every evening at bedtime. This was for a very long time one of those books for my daughter and me. The story is delightful. Miles lives in a swamp and loves to play music. But his mother hates his music, and chases him away from the house whenever he plays. Going further into the swamp, he finds a number of others who also can't play their music at home, and they form a swamp band. As they are playing, they are overheard by an alligator, who instead of eating them, invites them all onto a riverboat to play for the alligator ball! They go, they play, are a bit hit, and are about to become a bigger hit, because the main item on the menu that night is Swamp Band Soup! The band escapes.

The illustrations are just extraordinary. My daughter's favorite were the two pages that showed first all the alligators going onto the riverboat, and then the two pages that showed them all dancing at the alligator ball to the Swamp Band singing their song "Mama Don't Allow Any Music Playing in Here."

I have recommended this book to other parents, and they all report that their kids loved it just as much as mine did. This book is best suited for children between the ages of two and six. Good story, great illustrations, and it helps if you can come up with a nifty little tune to go with the lyrics of the song.

My kids love this book -- each of them, in turn, has been enthralled by the story of Miles, the little badger whose saxophone playing is too awful for his mama to allow it in the house, but who lands a gig playing for some hungry alligators. By dint of his clever and melodious playing, Miles saves himself and his band from becoming the soup du jour, and mama hears the swamp lullaby he's playing and says, "Oh, how nice..." The pictures are richly colored and amusing, and this should take its place among your favorite books.

This is my favorite twisted children's book. Ostensibly, it is a story about a child who is sick in bed and has bad dreams. It all ends happily. It's a fine book to share with your children.

But, you could read it this way... Johnny Lion is sick in bed and, after taking some "bad red medicine" begins to hallucinate. He sees an owl and a giant bunny in his room. His mother and daddy keep pushing the bad red medicine on him: "'Oh no,'said Johnny Lion. 'I do not want any more of that red medicine.' Johnny Lion did not want any more owls. He did not want any more red rabbits. But Father Lion said, 'Yes, you must take your medicine.' So the little lion opened his mouth wide and took the medicine."
Later he comes down from his "bad red medicine" high and has a nice dream: "He dreamed he was a big big lion...He had a big, big yellow mane. He dreamed he had big, big paws. He dreamed he had a big, huge mouth and big white teeth...Then he ran into Mother and Father Lion's room. The big, huge lion opened his moth wide and went, 'ROAR!' 'Oh, oh, oh,' said Father Lion. 'Help, help help!' cried Mother Lion."

That's what they get for pushing that bad red medicine! What a sweet dream: " 'Good morning,' someone said. It was Mother Lion. 'Did you have sweet dreams?' Father Lion said. 'Oh yes, indeed,' Johnny Lion said.

A great book. It's twisted and I love it. You will too.

This is one of the cutest books for young children to read. While Baby Mouse is shooting peas out of her window and scaring away foxes, Father Mouse is knocking blenders onto Farmer Clem's shoulder! So venture into a wonderful children's book where 'The corn is as bright as the summer sun'!

This is a cute childrens book. It will keep a child's interest because it is written in a lyrical rhyme. I think it's really cute. You should definately read it to your toddler/child.

Many first readers are repetitive, and this title from the Let's-Read-and-Find Out Science series is no exception. The text is insulting - the endnote that says "Starfish are not really fish - they are sea stars" could most certainly have been included, but the book is dumbed down by the text talks down to the reader (or read to). An attempt at poetic prose comes out stilted and forced, and there are some difficult words for a stage one reader, such as tangle, oysters, and different.
The book shows great diversity, but makes no attempt to connect this microcosm to the larger picture. The book compares the different varieties without going into detail about any one. This is not a book that can be used for school reports.
The appendix is titled "Find out more about starfish" but instead of listing things like specific habitat, lifespan, number of young, how much sea stars eat per day, etc. the note about sea stars is offered. Further activities include copying and coloring starfish and making a collage, or going down to the ocean to observe them. Other (better) books on the topic are recommended.
This is not a satisfying book, and since this is a topic of great interest to children, it is a shame that such a poor job was done. The only redeeming qualities of the book are the gorgeous watercolor collages by Robin Bricklaw. The muted wash backgrounds make the animals stand out in color and depth.

I found this book very helpful and informative for my kindergarten class. It is both simplistic enough for them to grasp the information and stay "engaged" as well as, complex enough for children to learn several attributes of a starfish...and remember it! There is also a great activity supplied at the end of the book. It's been a winner for me at home and at school. Great for beginners to science.

A nice book to read at bedtime. The words are quiet like a lullaby. Mom and Dad are sitting quiety by the fire, the clock is ticking softly, the river is whispering to its banks. Everything is set to lull your child to sleep. The only odd page is the seamonster resting at the bottom of the ocean. That seems inconsistent with the peaceful images throughout the rest of the book. But that is easily edited out while reading aloud. The illustrations are nice watercolors in deep evening colors to match the mood of the story.