Customer Reviews

Drummer Boy

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

 

 

Loren Long's Drummer Boy is MAGICAL! I ordered a copy for my mother who saw in the newspaper an illustration from the book back in the summer, and for my 2 1/2 yr. old daughter. They both LOVE it! Being an artist myself, I had seen some of Loren's illustrations

but had no idea how beautifully they could illustrate the Christmas spirit. I would recommend the book for

children and adults who love art and heart warming Christmas stories.

Loren Long is fast becoming one of my favorite illustrators and now demonstrates that he can storytell beautifully as well. This is a story that can be understood on many levels - as a simple story about the travels of a Christmas toy, or on a deeper level as an analogy of the love Christ brings to all of us during this time of year. The drummer boy is illustrated in Long's humbly charming fashion familiar in many of his characters (such as the clown in "The Little Engine That Could" and the boy in "Toy Boat"). My children, ages 5 and 3, ask for the book every night. I'm sure we'll be reading it long after Christmas is over.

I was first drawn to Loren Long's work at a shopping mall. His book "Toy Boat" was faced outward toward the window. The artwork was so moving that I had to go in and give it a look. When I perused through the pages of the beautiful book, I realized that this was the wonderful creator of the artwork for "Mr. Peabody's Apples."

Drummer Boy is another addition to Mr. Long's list of vibrant and wonderful compilation of illustrations that make a book, only this time he was enabled to draft his own text. The adventures of the drummer boy are exciting and the fluid prose makes it an enjoying read.

Loren Long has become the top illustrator on my list. His plays with shadow and light and softened main characters draw me in to each page. And my children also share a love for his work. His books are pulled from the shelf time and again to be read and for the pleasure of gazing upon each and every image.

This is a lovely book, illustration-wise. I bought it for my 4.5 year old and 3.5 year old. They love the pictures, but the story seems to be a bit sophisticated, and scary, for them. They were a little scared of the rat, and distressed that the drummer boy is so lonely. The piercing with a thorn and graveyard scene were difficult to explain to young children, and my kids are at the age where they want to know and understand EVERY detail! So, while I love the art, I think the story is more appropriate for older children (over 6 maybe) who will not be as scared by some of the characters and can get the complexities of the story a bit better.

My kids are 4 1/2 and 3 and, this book was NOT was I expected.

It was quite dark, and I was really shocked when they end up in a grave yard.....Hi Grandpa, dead in the ground. I settled in to read my kids some nice holiday stories each night and was not expecting to field questions on death, graveyards and oh the impalement of the soldier into a thorn bush. It all works out in the end, but in the spirit of Christmas I prefer to keep things light, happy and while it ends nicely, boy is the road rough getting there

The book, "Drummer Boy" by Loren Long is a masterpiece. The full page color illustrations in the Chris Van Alsburg style captivates the reader. This wonderful version of the traditional Christmas tale has an ironic ending. The story recounts the exciting journeys of the little toy drummer boy. That journey begins when a little boy receives the toy drummer boy as a pre-Christmas gift. One day the toy drummer drops into a waste can by accident and is eventually deposited in the trash. The garbage truck picks up the trash and deposits the drummer boy into the city dump. A captivating journey of journeys begins with the drummer boy meeting a rat. On the drummer boy's journey he meets with various other characters and eventually ends his journey in an ironic setting and is reunited with his original owner. You will want to read the book to fully experience the travels of the drummer boy, the characters he meets along the way and how he returns to his original home and is placed in the manger scene where he can play his drum for the baby Jesus! This is truly one of the bright stars of juvenile Christmas literature. All children and adults would enjoy this delightful tale. The independent reading level is probably upper 3rd grade and above. However, younger children would love to have the story read to them.

Loren Long is now one of my favorite author/illustrator. The illustrations are fabulous and the story is very well written. I would recommend reading this book to children that are 7 or older. I actually purchased this book from Loren himself. He came to my college to show how he creates his work.

Loren Long packs his story with adventure, thrill, and charm; all in a fairly small package. My three-year-old son enjoys the book and drums on his legs when the "boom, pum, pum" repeats. My 20 month old son has a hard time sitting for any book with paragraphs... what can you do? I think this is a very good book for kids 2 years and up.