While not the best of the stories about Freddy the Pig, this novel is one of the better ones, coming at the end of the middle cycle. The first few books, while entertaining, were before Brooks really reached his stride as a writer, and shortly after this book he was coming down from his peak. Besides exploring outer space with several friends, Freddy must also help save the Bean family from inlaws who make a plague of locusts look like fun. Even Brooks'least Freddy book is head and shoulders above most other children's books, and most can be enjoyed by adults as well.

As a preteen I read every "Freddy the Pig" book except "The Clockwork Twins" and that only because my library couldn't find a copy of it. Reading these in order was one of the highlights of my trips to the local library. I'm delighted to see them being re-released in mass market editions. They are absolutely timeless and priceless additions to any child's collection.

These books are the hidden gems of children's literature in the United States. They are all so warm, smart and fabulously funny. Freddy and the Space Ship is no exception. It sounds like a cliche, but these novels truly embody the spirit of timelessness. They are all a delight. Freddy and the Space Ship continues the formula, providing witty insights and familiar old characters to a new and exciting, albeit naive, story. Wonderful books. Every child, or child at heart should own one.

I was prejudiced against Bean's fifties incursion into space after the tedium of "Freddy and the Space Ship," but "Men from Mars" proved to be a surprisingly strong title. My six year old son laughed a lot and was thrilled when one of his favorite villains showed up. A good one!

Freddy the Pig and his friends from the Bean farm have come a long way from their first trip to Florida in 1928. Now they have a Farm Animals Republic, a bank, a newspaper, an atomic powered car and even a rocket ship. But, despite the prestige and renown of being Bean farm animals, their basic nature had remains the same - they are honest, forthright, and darned funny.

Things bode ill for the Boomschmidt Circus when Herbert Garble (who has never had an honest day in his life) joins them with six strange looking men from Mars - each a foot high, in red pajamas and wearing red fluffy whiskers. Freddy is sure there is some fraud involved, but the Circus is making a ton of money and the last thing the farm animals want to do is hurt Mr. Boomschmidt. Freddy, Jinx the Cat, Uncle Ben and Mrs. Peppercorn head out to investigate.

What they find is pretty fishy, or rather, pretty ratty. Mean old Simon the rat and his family are up to their necks in trouble making, and Garble's Martians are just the start. If the rats have their way the Beans will be forced off their farm and Uncle Ben will lose his rocket ship. Drastic times call for drastic measures as the animals prepare to go to war.

If things are strange with fake Martians, they get stranger when a flying saucer full of real Martians shows up to investigate. Soon there are rats pretending they are Martians, rabbits pretending they are rats pretending they are Martians, and real Martians stirring the pot. As Freddy nearly is sent to Montana to become pork chops and bacon, everything hangs in the balance.

As always Walter Brooks' tales combine humor and suspense with a natural sense of values that apply equally to animal and man. If the science in this book is a bit silly it is still engaging enough for its intended readership. And the simple lessons of friendship and doing what is right never grow old.

Ever since third grade I have hunted for and read every Freddy book I could lay hands on, but FREDDY'S COUSIN WEEDLY was always among the missing.
Thanks are due the publisher and Amazon.com making this book available again. I was afraid it was a sort of one-off, or a minor book, but ordered it for Christmas and discovered a lost treasure. All our friends are there; Jinx the Cat, Mrs. Wiggins of the uncommon common sense, patient but indecisive Hank, and, of course, that paragon of poets, detectives, and pigs -- Freddy himself.
The book was obviously written after Brooks had hit his stride with the series, having a timeless quality and the morals clearly but unobtrusively stated. This book would've gotten five stars had I not compared it to FREDDY GOES CAMPING and FREDDY THE MAGICIAN. Compared to any other children's books, it gets the full five stars. Excellent!

This is the best of the Freddy the pig books in my opinion.

This is one of the earlier Freddy adventures, before Brooks had really hit his stride as a writer. In this book, the barnyard organizes an election and a woodpecker, who is a smooth talker, winds up almost controlling the Bean farm. As usual, there are morals aplenty without being preached at the reader, but, given the 1930s political background of this book (Huey Long and some other major players were obviously in Brooks' mind as he wrote this) I suspect adults will like it more than the kids, although my own children enjoyed it. From another author, this would've gotten at least four stars, but Brooks raises the standard.

The best children's writers seem to forget they're "writing for kids" and just tell a story that's exciting, dreamy, funny, sad, realistic and/or fantastic. That's what Brooks did in "Freddy the Politician." The book appeared in 1939 and unmistakably reflects world events of the time, just as other Freddy books are flavored by the Depression and the Cold War. Fortunately, each book sustains the hilarious, lovable series characters, who are the author's lasting achievement. Other, better-known books like "Animal Farm" and "Charlotte's Web" are heavily in debt to Walter R. Brooks.

Gosh. I don't see how anyone can give "Freddy the Politician" less than 5 stars. Freddy's "dropping in" to the board meeting at the bank -- Mrs. Wiggins' wonderful advice about the uses of laughter -- Bertram the robot going beserk and grabbing his own operator's tailfeathers -- it's all vintage Freddy. How great to have this classic back in print. Be sure to buy an extra for your local library when you buy one for yourself.

Since he wrote these stories during the several years he spent in Brattleboro, VT, we of the North Country have a particular affinity for Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books. The most familiar are the Mowgli tales, basis for the very good Disney movie. Mowgli is an Indian infant who is lost in the jungle after Shere Khan (the tiger) kills his family. Bagheera (the black panther) places him with a wolf family that has a newborn litter. Mowgli's new "parents" and Bagheera and Baloo (the brown bear) sponsor him for membership in the Wolf Pack and, much to Shere Khan's chagrin, he is admitted. Mowgli is raised according to Jungle Law, but all the while Shere Khan is plotting his revenge and ingratiating himself with the younger wolves. Eventually, he leads a rebellion against Akela, the pack's aging leader and attacks Mowgli, who beats him away with a burning firebrand. In these and the several other Mowgli stories--there are some prequels--Kipling strikes a nice balance between anthropomorphizing the animals and understanding Mowgli's natural superiority.

Also appearing in this collection is a story I've loved since I first saw the Classic Cartoon version--Rikki Tikki Tavi. It tells the story of an intrepid young mongoose and his life or death battle to protect an Indian villa from a couple of particularly unpleasant cobras. Rikki Tikki Tavi has always seemed to me to be one of the great heroes in all of literature.

These are great stories for young and old. For folks who worry about Kipling's potentially imperialist, racist or racialist overtones (see review), rest assured, these tales are free of such themes. They offer an excellent opportunity to introduce kids to the work of a true master storyteller.

GRADE: A

The story of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the jungles of 19th century India, charmed me when I was young no less than it does today. Kipling wrote this to celebrate his love of India and it's wild animals as well as to show again some of his frequent themes of honor, loyalty, and perserverance. While his writing may seem 'dated' to some, to others the truths he includes rise above politics and 'current correctness'. Baloo the Bear, Shere Khan the Tiger, Bagheera the Panther, Kaa the Python were all childhood friends of mine, and reading these Jungle Book stories to your own children today will result in their exposure to such old fashioned concepts as sticking by your friends in adversity, helping your family, relying on yourself. Good lessons then, good lessons now. Mowgli learns the value of 'good manners' early on, learns that 'all play and no work' leads to unexpected troubles, learns that thoughtless actions can have devasting consequences. By showing Mowgli in an often dangerous 'all animal' world, we see reflections of modern human problems presented in a more subtle light. Kipling leads children down the jungle path into adventures beyond their day to day imagining and along the way, he weaves subtle points in and out of the stories, he shows the value of 'doing for yourself', of 'learning who to trust'. All of this in a tale of childhood adventure that's never been equaled. The book is over 100 years old now, and there are terms & concepts from the age of Empire that aren't 'correct' today. Parents can edit as needed as they read bedtime stories, but I've found that children learn early on that the world changes, and that some ideas that were popular long ago did not prove to be correct. Explaining this, too, is a part of parenting. Some of our current popular ideas may not stand the test of time, but I suspect that 100 years from now parents will still read the Jungle Book to their children. And the children will still be charmed, thrilled and instructed in valuable life-lessons.

The Jungle Books are usually marketed as juvenile fiction. True, this is essential reading for children, but it's even deeper when you read it as an adult.

Although "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal" are just as good as the least of the Mowgli stories, it is the various tales of the boy raised in the jungles of India that are - and justifiably - the heart of the collection.

As a baby, Mowgli is found and raised by a clan of wolves and three godfatherly mentors who each teach him about life in different ways - Baloo the Bear, who teaches him the technical laws he'll need to survive; Kaa the Python, the nearly archtypal figure who teaches him even deeper lessons; and Bagheera the Panther, who perhaps loves Mowgli most of all but understands all too well the implications of the ambiguous humanity of the boy he's come to care for.

The stories have it all, from the alternately humorous and frightening "Kaa's Hunting", where Mowgli learns an important lesson about friendship and it's responsibility, to the epic "Red Dog" that reads like something out of Homer, to "Letting in the Jungle" which, without giving anything away contains a disturbing paragraph that's both glaring and a long time in coming if you've read between the lines in the previous Mowgli stories and yet at the same time so subtle you can almost miss it's importance.

If you didn't read it as a child, read it now. If you did, read it again as an adult.

A generally amusing Freddy adventure. My favorite line: "Mr. Bleech was a pretty mean man. Anyway, nobody in his senses would expect a kind action from a man who would steal from a rhinoceros."
Brooks had such a gift for gentle and humorous characterization that I wish he had had a stronger editor. I would enjoy the books about twice as much if somebody had red pencilled his compulsive and relentless use of "pretty" as an intensifier (see above quote)! I drop them when reading the books to my six year old son.
My favorites: "Freddy the Politician" (unfortunately, this volume has lost its original title, "Wiggins for President," the best title Brooks ever came up with!), "Freddy the Detective," "Freddy and the Ignormus." "Freddy goes to Florida," the first and perhaps easiest, is a good start for younger children.

I have read these books, the entire series, all 18 or so of them, once every 3-4 years for the last 2 decades, and I love them all! Having them republished is a great boon to the world! This one in particular is just vintage Freddy, it doesn't strand out for any particular reason, just excellent like the rest.

This is a very good book, but the style is very different. It sounds a bit like Yoda the whole time. The story is about a 13 year old boy who has to leave his home in the country and go to the city to be an apprentice with the copper and brass master, Tang.

This book won the 1933 Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature. It is the story of five years in the life of a young Chinese boy, begining at age thirteen. He and his mother, following the death of his father, travel to the city of Chungking (now, Chongqing) where he is to be an apprentice to Tang the coppersmith. This book is a vivid and well-presented account of life in central China in the 1920s and young students can use the book as a starting point to the study of twentieth-century China. The author (1892-1958) lived in China for several years, holding a number of teaching posts. An interesting approach was used at a local school. After reading this book, the following school year (6th grade!), the students read Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth."

This book is the story of a thirteen year old boy from the farms of central China who, with his widowed mother, moves to the big city, Chungking (now spelled Chongqing). Because life on the farm is so uncertain, and, in fact, rather dangerous because of banditry, Fu will be apprenticed to Tang, a master coppersmith. The book portrays a turbulent time, after the fall of Imperial government, and before a new order could arise, a time of war and disunity.

I often read this book with my sixth grade class. The author is Western (she left America for a career as a teacher and missionary in Shanghai, Chungking, and Nanking) and sometimes this bias shows through, as does her distaste for rabble-rousing young revolutionaries (early communists?), though perhaps her sentiments would be shared by many modern Chinese.

Still, the book makes fascinating reading. It introduces the reader to a China that has passed into history (thank goodness - it was such a violent time), yet many authentic cultural ideas and customs that are presented in the book persist, such as payment of debts on New Years, crooked streets catching ghosts, etc. There are even a few Chinese expressions. Some are translated into English (like FangXin - let down your heart) and others are kept in Chinese, such as Tuchun (a military governor).

The book is well-written, though quite episodic. This episodic nature can be an advantage, though, since it may be possible to shorten the book when presenting it to a class by skipping some chapters.

Also, in the back of the book is an appendix, keyed to the chapters, that explains some differences between the China of today and the China of the 1920's.

The characters are well drawn. Although there is little character development outside the main character, Young Fu does have to deal with a lot of the issues confronting a young man growing up. His adventurous spirit and willingness to embrace new ideas are contrasted with the attitudes of others around him. This openness to change (and to Western ideas, such as Western medicine)usually lead to his successes.

Some of the main issues dealt with in this book are: superstitions, the value of education, the roles of foreigners in the China of that time, the value of education, the effect of war and politics on a large, though backwater, town, as well as friendship and family.

This book is probably appropriate for very high fifth grade through ninth grade. It makes excellent material for a sixth grade class, but they may some guidance or orientation, because the life depicted is so different from our own.

The illustrations help when explaining ideas such as "Wedding Chair" or "Load-pole."

"Freddy goes to Florida" was an instant classic, so I can see why a sequel followed. Unfortunately, Brooks and Wiese have some trouble figuring out exactly how to handle it.

The opening scenes at the Bean farm are excellent, but the trip to the North Pole is overlong and a mixed bag. The tone is uncertain, with the plot (a visit to Saint Nicholas) more juvenile than usual, but with more horrific humor than usual.

The writing is unclear and awkward in places, and, as always, Brooks attempts to win the pennant for overuse of the adverbial "pretty." A strong editor could have been such a help.

Brooks apparently felt the series needed some children to befriend the animals, hence the introduction of Ella and Everett. However, as finely as the author characterizes animals, he doesn't seem to know what to do with kids; the pair are completely devoid of personality, stay off stage as much as possible, and are ultimately dumped unceremoniously from the series. What happened to them?

I'm a little baffled by Kurt Wiese's change of style in this one, as well. For instance, Jinx was drawn as his usual svelte black self in the first book. In this one, he suddenly becomes a white, bloated monster. Why? In "Freddy the Detective," he's back to his old self and we finally have a formula that will keep the series going (after a few more false starts).

One more pressing question: How did the phaeton get home again?

This is the second of the Freddy the Pig books written by Walter R. Brooks. The earlier books, while terrific for children, are not as entertaining for adults as the later books. The Freddy books are great moral instruction without ever being preachy, always entertaining. In this book, the Bean farm animals decide to visit the North Pole. They have adventures galore on the way and, at the Pole, help save Santa from some well-meaning pirates who are trying to bring efficiency to Santa's workshop. I didn't rate this book higher only because later Freddy books have an even greater appeal. For children, this should be at least a four-star

I thaught that freddy goes to the north pole was a great book enjoyable for all ages. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes adventure stories. It is one of those books that you never wan't to end.

If you like freddy the pig,you have to get this book

This book was clearly a labor of love, both from Overlook Press and from the many Friends of Freddy (members of an organization devoted to supporting the books) who contributed to it. As Michael Cart points out in his introduction, it's something of a dream come true: the first new Freddy book in over forty years. The dustjacket is colorful but simple. Removing the dustjacket reveals a pleasant surprise: the front cover has a single illustration in the lower right corner, just as the original Freddy books did.

Going within to the text one encounters a splendid introduction by Michael Cart, beginning with a comparison of Freddy and Brooks that leads into a short biography and then into a brief history of the books themselves. He concludes with a celebration of the book itself, since "the delicious quotations you will discover here capture the humor-and the heart-of this wonderful series and remind us, as well, of how American these books are in their celebration of such virtues as honesty, bravery, responsibility, and, yes, common sense."

Turning the page brings one to the beginning of the "delicious quotations," which are organized by topic. They start, appropriately enough, with Friendship, and continuing with Bravery; Responsibility; Animal Aspects; Politics and the Law of the Farm; Imagination; Honesty; People, Pigs, and Popular Opinion; and Humor.

I won't go much into the quotations, since not only should just about everyone reading this have a pretty good idea of what they are, but I also picked out a bunch of them myself and so am more than a little prejudiced in the matter. Instead, let me talk about the presentation. Each two-page layout contains two or three quotations, with attribution indicating which book each came from, and frequently an appropriate Wiese illlustration. Each page also has a heading at the very top appropriate to the quote or quotes below. This is the only truly original part of the book and tends to be a bit uneven: though some headings are inane or just unnecessary, others supply the context (Sam Jackson the mole seeing his friends through glasses for once, for example), and others are truly inspired. I particularly like the heading for the quote about cats not practicing music unless they are continually rewarded: "Why cats will never get to Carnegie Hall."

It's kind of hard to know what to make of the quotes themselves, though I'm sure my talk at the 1998 Friends of Freddy convention on "Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Freddy the Pig" would have been vastly easier to research if I'd had this book then. It's certainly fun reading and probably a handy reference when you're looking up some homily you can't quite remember. My thanks to Overlook for producing it, and to contributing editor Sarah Koslosky and all of the other Friends of Freddy who helped collect the quotes.

"Freddy the Cowboy" is one of the best titles in the series, with a reasonably tight plot and the thoroughly delightful origin story of the Horrible Ten, so it is not surprising that it was followed up immediately by this sequel.

Unfortunately, "Freddy Rides Again" is weaker than "Freddy the Cowboy" (or "Destry Rides Again"). Elihu Margarine is snobbish and arrogant, but not quite villainous enough; the animals' campaign against him veers on the obnoxious. The most memorable image is Jinx, in his little cowboy outfit, riding his faithful steed, Bill the Goat; if only the story made more use of him!

One more note: When Freddy is talking Western Badman Speak, the word "greaser" pops up, apparently in its racial sense; in questionable taste in the fifties, and you may want to smooth over it today! Yoicks!