I thought this this book was an exemplary piece of children's literature. I remember hearing this story as a kid myself, and I think that children everywhere can be touched with this story in the same way that I was. Enough said.

This book is a joyous read of rythmic rhyme through poetry. The illustrations are deliciosly realistic with a touch of sparkle. I recommend this book for every educator. And parents, your little ones will love the animals and will chime in with the rhyme.

This book, with its inviting watercolors and wonderful use of words is a new favorite of mine. A snowman, built very simply yet lovingly by a neighborhood full of children is perfect for a warm cuddle with your favorite toddler.

A perfect picture book.

Hob Goblin wakes up one evening, looks over his hideous face in the cracked mirror, finds himself an altogether handsome fellow, and gets ready for his day... er, night. Looking for his shoes, he finds an old bag of Snail Crunchies left over from his roommate, Bones Jones the skeleton. "Untidy creatures!" Hob says to himself, and grumbles that old Bones doesn’t do anything around the house.

Indeed, Bones Jones is in the habit of sitting around spraying himself with furniture polish—- Whooosh-fissssh—- and polishing his fine bones to a glossy sheen. He’s also in the habit of not doing anything because, as he says, in life he was the King of England. "In your former life you were a horse thief!" says Hob, pointing an accusing finger. One of those pointless arguments ensues—- "King!", yells Bones, "horse thief!" yells Hob, "King!", "horse thief!!", "KING!!", etc etc etc—- and Bones decides that he’s not going to stand around and be insulted by the likes of Hob Goblin, and off he goes!

Hob decides that living with a talkative, big-headed skeleton is not for the likes of him and decides to go off to the big city to seek out a slave that WILL do something around the house and not have grand ideas about being the King of England!! Casting a spell on a branch of ragwort so it grows to tremendous size, Hob and his frog, Mud, fly off to the big city full of people to capture a slave in Hob’s black bag.

The first house has a large sign on it that says Happy Halloween, and the house has cutouts of pumpkins, witches and ghosts on it. Hob isn’t sure what that is all about, but he IS sure that Mr. Happy Halloween who lives in the house will probably make a fine cleaning staff who will be better than that good-for-nothing Bones Jones!!

Of course, this begins a series of funny misunderstandings as person after person thinks that Hob is someone dressed up in a REALLY grand Halloween costume, and instead of him bagging a potential slave, people keep tossing wrapped pieces of candy and goodies into his black bag. As Hob is misunderstood, laughed at and even entered into a costume party competition, he begins to see that living with a skeleton isn’t so bad after all; even one who is fond of furniture polish and boasts of being royalty.

In the end, of course, Hob asks Bones Jones to forgive him and they have a fine feast on the candy that Hob has collected.

"Hob Goblin and the Skeleton" is a fine Halloween story, .... The text is fun to read and flows well. There is ample opportunity for the reader to use funny voices for Hob, Bones and the other characters in the book. The illustrations are detailed pencil drawings and Bones Jones is beautifully drawn with enough detail that you can count his vertebrae and fingerbones (skeletons are difficult to draw because of all the details and shading but Ms. Coville has done a masterful job).

The art teacher at the school I teach at was looking through the book and plans to use it in her art lessons to show examples of characture and movement. She also plans to use the book to show that one does not need a million different crayons or pots of paint to make beautiful pictures—- a common pencil can create wonders.

While I generally like ANY story dealing with Halloween, I am especially fond of the message of this book. Many times children will, in a fit of pique, tell their closest friends that they don’t like them because they did or didn’t do some particular thing, or because some little habit of theirs (like forever spraying yourself with furniture polish!) makes the other crazy. Living with people’s little idiosyncrasies is part of life and living with your fellow humans. While the grass may always look greener on the other side, many times it really isn’t, and this story is a prime example of that. Highly recommended!!

A Lucky Thing is a wonderful book to share with your favorite elementary children. The crisp and seemingly 3-dimensional pictures will reel these children in and hold them long enough to discover the gentle, thought-provoking poems. The 14 poems use a clear voice to share with the reader common sights on a farm. The poems are often funny without being silly. What do chickens think when they see birds flying by? What could frogs be trying to say when sitting on a lily pad croaking all day? These poems will give you some answers.

When I beckoned my 9 year old to explore this book with me, he complained, "No, please not poetry"! Then he couldn't help but touch sharpened pencil and feather quill on the opening pages. They were so clear, so sharp, they seemed to be real. Ha... he was caught. We were soon reading together and aloud! We went back and forth in the book looking at the details in the pictures and trying to decide which poems were our favorite. Later I caught him reading it again, on his own. The magic in this book had worked. He had put down the video game and read a book!

My 4 year old daughter loves this book, not only because her sister's name is Maisy, but because it is a sweet story of tradition and family. It is very friendly and engaging. The lesson of aging and seasons and the circle of life is great.

I thought this book was great for kids. I really think this should be a classic, along with Runaway Bunny (by Margaret Wise Brown) and Love You Forever (by Robert Munsch). Wonderful way to let your kid(s) know that you love them!

This was a very good book. This story shows a young girl who is given the responsibility of going to the store alone. When she makes a mistake she is afraid to go home. The story showed how the young girl corrected her mistake. It also showed loving parents who were understanding and supportive. This was a great family story. The girl learns about responsibility. The illustrations were done in watercolors and are beautiful.

Our family loves this book. It's a great example of forgiveness and families that work together to get us through the tough times. Our Afr. Amer. daughter particularly loves the beautiful pictures of this AA family.

What a charming story of a little girl who learns about responsibility, forgiveness, and making the best of a mess. We love this story!

I cannot recommend this book for young children. The poem in which a dog kills a cat was very upsetting to my child.

I gave the book 3 stars because I would recommend it to adults or mature children.

The text and illustrations are sophisticated and magnificent. Some of the best children's poetry I've come across in a very long time. Incredibly witty, fresh and original. In quality, not too far behind T.S. Eliot! (Compared to other "cat books," that is.) Buy it for cat lovers of all ages, except, DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOUNG AND/OR SENSITIVE CHILDREN (there's carnage and "sacrilege").

The illustrations and prose were combined with perfect rythmn and rhyme. The cat tales were humorous, imaginative, and truly delightful. I especially loved the story about how cats lost their wings. Cat lovers will read this book with a smile on their face and in their heart. Although this book is recommended for ages 4-8, I at 46 and my luncheon companion of 72 loved this as if we were 4 and 8. I recommend this book for anyone who loves cats and a good book that takes you beyone your own imagination.

My son lives by this book, but i am afraid it is teaching him bad english skills. He walks up to random people and repeats the key phrase in this book: "I am a doofus google eyed goblin!" It kind of embarrases me when he does this. Overall, it encourages your kids to read, so if it's available, get it!