We recently discovered the Freddy the Pig series by Walter Brooks. The kids (ages 7-12) went through as many as we could find (about 20 titles) and enjoyed the down-home humor and general silliness of the characters (they thought the sheriff and his unusual jail were especially funny). Brooks began the series in the 1920's, which stars Freddy, a clever pig who lives on Mr. Bean's farm. Freddy is a versatile pig, as you can see from the titles, listed below. The New York Times Book Review, quoted on the book jacket, calls the series "the American version of the great English classics, such as the Pooh books or The Wind in the Willows." That's going a bit far, in my opinion. I wouldn't call this great literature, but it is fun stuff. We've read all but the asterisked titles, and will be adding them to the EagerReaders.com list shortly.
Freddy Goes to Florida
Freddy Goes to the North Pole
Freddy the Politician
Freddy the Detective
Freddy and the Bean Home News
The Clockwork Twin
Freddy and the Space Ship
Freddy and the Ignormus
Freddy Plays Football
Freddy's Cousin Weedly
Freddy the Cowboy
Freddy Rides Again
Freddy and the Men from Mars
Freddy and Mr. Camphor
Freddy and Simon the Dictator
Freddy Goes Camping
Freddy the Pied Piper
Freddy and the Popinjay
Freddy and the Perilous Adventure
Freddy and the Dragon
Freddy the Pilot
The Story of Freginald
Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars
Freddy the Magician*
Freddy and the Flying Saucer Plans*
The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig*
The Wit and Wisdom of Freddy and his Friends*
The Art of Freddy*
Eleanor Estes/Moffat Books
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
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2 comments:
Freddy has been a great gift to our son. The books are perfect for precocious readers because the stories are safe and very funny but still include challenging vocabulary and concepts. It is amazing that Freddy isn't more widely known because the books are easily as good or better than many more popular series.
Freddy the Pig is the best series I have ever read because it has humor, adventure, and exciting action in every book. I also like how most of the characters are in most of the books. I think people can be disappointed if their favorite identity doesn't show up in every book, as is the case with many series.
Son of anonymous (see previous comment)
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