Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Johnny Chuck (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The beloved Johnny Chuck experiences many trials throughout the book,one of which is a yearning to roam from his home. However, he faces all of his problems with a cool head. Some of his tribulations include an annoying nuisance in the form of Sammy Jay, and a mystery animal that provokes our hero.

In the second book in Thornton Burgess' series on the animals of the Green Meadows, Green Forest and Smiling Pool areas, the focus is placed on Johnny Chuck, a wood chuck who wakes up from a long winter slumber as a new person and heads out to explore the great world, all the time with the help and hindrance of the mischievous, Sammy Jay.

In the beginning we learn about hibernation and how animals will make themselves fat in order to prepare themselves for the winter. Such lessons about nature are all too common in Burgess' books, and this one is no exception. Later on the lesson of "survival of the fittest" is taught when Johnny Chuck has to defend himself from an older Chuck who wants to fight Johnny for dominance of an area. Johnny wins the fight which only serves to build his confidence as he ventures further into the great world. Along the way Johnny meets another wood chuck, a female one this time, and something unexpected happens to Johnny: he falls in love. Johnny then forgets all about his quest into the great world, as he was already embarked on another quest: finding a new home for him and Polly (the female chuck). The two start a family, and then we the readers learn of how the two school their children in methods of survival.

This is a great story for parents who want their children to read something that is both educational and fun at the same time. My daughter loves this book being read to her; its short 2-4 page chapters make it ideal for such occasions. I hope you give the book a try.

Darien Summers, author of The Mischievous Hare, a children's book.

This review applies to the edition published by Dover. Unfortunately all reviews show up under all editions, regardless of publisher.

This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. However, the prospective buyer should be informed that the illustrations in this Dover edition are NOT by the original illustrator, Harrison Cady. Instead, they are crude redrawings by another artist, Thea Kliros. Although they are better than the illustrations in the Dover titles for which artist Pat Stewart did the crude redrawings, they are not as charming as Cady's work.

Some of the other titles in this Dover series of Thornton Burgess books do have original Harrison Cady illustrations.

To get real Harrison Cady illustrations of this title, you'll have to buy a used book. There were three sets of original Harrison Cady illustrations for this title:
-- Published by Little, Brown, with 6 full-page grayscale illustrations.
-- Published by Little, Brown, with 8 full-page color illustrations.
-- Published by Grosset & Dunlap, with 14 full-page B&W line drawings, including line-drawing versions of all 6 original grayscale illustrations in the Little, Brown editions, plus many smaller line drawings. Also a paperback version of this published under the name "Tempo".

The redrawings in this Dover edition are of the 6 grayscale Little, Brown illustrations.

On the other hand, the cover illustration is one of only four special paintings Cady did of Burgess animals. As far as I know, the four Dover titles that have them are the first editions to use them. The price of the book is worth it for that cover alone.

I recommend the Grosset & Dunlap (and Tempo) editions. Cady did them decades after he did the 6 grayscale Little, Brown illustrations, after he had grown as an artist. Even though the Grosset & Dunlap line drawings are simpler than the Little, Brown grayscale illustrations, they are more charming. On the other hand, the Little, Brown grayscale illustrations better show Cady's remarkable vision for Burgess' creatures, so if you can get both, that's ideal. But either one is better than the drawings in this Dover edition.

The Little, Brown edition with the 8 full-page color illustrations was done about the same time as the Grosset & Dunlap drawings, but it is not a well-made book, and is not as enjoyable to hold and read as the Grosset & Dunlap.

The name of this book is "Harry's Mad" by Dick King Smith. The book is about a boy named Harry. He gets a letter from is uncle's wife saying that he has passed away and she wants him to have somethig and if you want to figure out what that is, then just read it! Ryan T. Webster age 9