Jonathan Swift's 18th century satire, Gulliver's Travels, is an extraordinary tale of the adventures of an English ship surgeon. The ship surgeon, Gulliver, by a series of unfortunate events on each of his four voyages at sea, receives the chance to explore the cultures of the countries of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg and the land of the Houyhnhnms. Each land is considerably different from the others, and creates quite an entertaining read.

While the story itself is particularly unusual, the satirical element which Swift applied to it adds another level of comprehension. If understood, one could have a nice chuckle at the way Swift mockingly portrays ideas and people through the various cultures which Gulliver encounters. Some similes, however, are intended to get a more serious meaning across. For example, in his first journey of the book, Gulliver finds himself in the country of Lilliput where the people are only six inches tall, save the king who is seven. In this land there are two groups which were distinguished by which side a person breaks their eggs on. One king published an edict commanding all his subjects to break their eggs on the small side, but many would've picked death over breaking their eggs on the 'wrong' side, so many did. By this, Swift meant to throw contempt on the exaggerated importance that people place on their differences, as on which side one breaks an egg is a very trivial thing. The two groups mentioned represent the Catholic and Protestant religions, between which were many wars and massacres during the 1500's when the Protestants first appeared.

Gulliver's Travels takes the reader to many lands, all different and unique ' each adding another perspective on traditional beliefs and ways of thinking. Gulliver changes as much as the scenery around him, and after each voyage he has changed dramatically. At the end he has transformed so much that I feel really sorry for his family ' although it's only love that could allow them to put up with his strange behaviors.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an appetite for literature, as Gulliver's Travels is an excellent satire of the ways of the thinking in the early 1700's. Also, the author does a good job in describing the lands which Gulliver visits in great detail. Although Swift may not have written this book with intense action scenes and steamy romance, it is definitely a work worthy of the people of today.

Lemuel Gulliver is a surgeon/ship¨ˆs captain who embarks on several intriguing adventures. His first endeavor takes him to Lilliput, where all inhabitants are six inches tall, but resemble normal humans in every other respect. His next voyage lands him on Brobdingnag, where a grown man is sixty feet tall, and even the shortest dwarf stands thirty feet tall. On his third trip, he travels to several locations, including a floating island. During Gulliver¨ˆs final voyage, he is abandoned by his mutinous crew on the island of the Houyhnhnms, which are extremely intelligent horses. No evil or concept of lying exists among these creatures. The island is also inhabited by Yahoos, savage, irrational human-like creatures who are kept as pets by the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver wishes to spend the rest of his life on this peaceful island, but he is banished and forced to return to England.
I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to people 14 or older. Since the novel was written in the 1700¡¯s, the words, grammar and usage are a little confusing. The reader also must have prior knowledge of 18th-century politics to get a full image of what Swift is trying to convey. At some points, the author goes into detail about nautical terms and happenings, and that tends to drag. Overall, the book is well-written, slightly humorous, if not a little confusing.

I have trouble reading classic literature. I am an avid reader and I want to enjoy the classics, but just find it difficult to understand the meaning in some of the writing.

This, however, was a pleasant surprise. Although written in the early 1700s, the story itself was fairly easy to follow. Even towards the end, I began to see the underlying theme of the satire that Swift has been praised for in this work.

Being someone who reads primarily science fiction and fantasy novels, I thought this might be an opportunity to culture myself while also enjoying a good story. I was correct in my thinking. Even if you can't pick up on the satire, there is still a good classic fantasy story.

Essentially, the book details the travels of Lemuel Gulliver, who by several misfortunes, visits remote and unheard of lands. In each, Gulliver spends enough time to understand the language and culture of each of these land's inhabitants. He also details the difference in culture of his native England to the highest rulers of the visted nations. In his writing of these differences, he is able to show his dislike with the system of government of England. He does this by simply stating how things are in England and then uses the reaction of the strangers as outsiders looking in, showing their lack of respect for what Gulliver describes.

I found it very interesting to see that even as early as the 1700s there was a general dislike of government as well as lawyers.

I would recommend this book to anyone who reads the fantasy genre. Obviously, it's not an epic saga like so many most fantasy readers enjoy, but it's a nice break. I would also recommend this to high school students who are asked to pick a classic piece for a book report. It reads relatively quick and isn't as difficult to read as some of the others that I've tried to read.

As a substitute teacher it is often difficult to gain and keep the students' attention. This book, Doodle Dandies is a great help! The illustrations and beautiful and vivid, adding much to the words on each page. As a teacher, this book can be used throughout an entire unit on poetry, and also can be used to integrate language arts skills such as creative writing and onomatoepia. This book is a great assest to any classroom library as well as one which can be read over and over again by parents (at home) and children.

I found the bok very much fun. It was a pleasure to read and kept me guessing at all times at the riddles.

Lewis has written a series of poems that all have to do with animals of different types. His form varies from an ABAB rhyme scheme with four line stanzas to haiku and everything in between. Every page is covered in large colorful illustrations, leaving little or no white space at all. The pages feel busy and take away from the inherent simplicity and elemental nature of the poetry. Further, the font does not stand out from the page enough and some poems can be difficult to read due to the illustration underneath. White there are a lot of different styles introduced in this book, all of them are formal and somewhat rigid. It could possibly give children the idea that poems have to follow one of these forms and take the fun out of the writing process.

Why 3 stars?:
Very nice mix of poems, but all are forced and follow typical patterns, which could take the fun out of poetry for many children. Furthermore, because of the page design and color choices, much of the text is hard to read.

Currently I am enroled in a Children's Literature class reviewing poetry. I selected this poetry collection because I am focusing on Elementary School children and the development of poems in their curriculum. This collection is creative and magnified in language and the illustrations are delightful, delicate paintings done by Pamela Paparone. Each illustration addds wry humor and gives the reader a better understanding of the Two-legged, Four-legged, No-legged Friends that we have.

It is a shame that people allow their children to read and even encourage them to believe in nonsense such as Noah's Ark and his mythical flood. I guess this early brainwashing, so to speak, is about the only way there is to get new members and money into the church. But then christians also teach their children about Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.

J. Patrick Lewis retells the biblical story of Noah in rhyme and rhythm. The details he incorporates into the story (such as bringing enough food for the different kinds of animals add a unique perspective to the traditional story. Also, Reg Cartwright's illustrations multiply the amusement readers find on the pages. Each page is packed with character and charisma. The Boat of Many Rooms is the perfect picture book for any parent to share with his or her child.