21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best "Freddys" Ignormus keeps kids reading., August 23, 1998
By A Customer
Published between 1927 and 1958, the 26 books in the "Freddy the Pig" series are perhaps the most consistently well written children's book series of the 20th century. By turns, Freddy is a detective, a poet, a pilot, a "Pied Piper," a football player--you get the idea. His barnyard friends are fully fleshed and memorable. Ignormus is one of the best Freddys and really keeps kids reading. Freddy has to put on his detective hat and find out who is terrorizing the animals in the "big woods"--and why. If you have kids from 5 to 14, they'll love these books. Brooks was apparently the first children's writer to write in the vernacular and use "slang" -- that dreaded word! -- and he's just as funny today as he ever was. ALSO: If you read the books and love 'em, find the Friends of Freddy website and chatroom - we'd love to meet you. AND we're having a convention in October in upstate New York (the big woods) that you can attend. But most important --read the books, especially to your kids. Connie Arnold, Secretary-Treasurer, Friends of Freddy, 5A Laurel Hill Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770. We're a nonprofit literary club devoted to the preservation and perpetuation of the writings of Walter R. Brooks (who also wrote the Mr. Ed short stories on which the famous TV series was based).
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps the Best, May 18, 2002
This review is from: Freddy and the Ignormus (Paperback)
Funny, more tightly plotted than usual, maybe the all around best Freddy title.
When I was a kid, I started reading "Flying Saucer Plans," found it not particularly compelling, and forgot about Freddy for many years.
Recently, I was casting about for something to read to my six year old son, who doesn't like much of anything except Esther Averill's "Cat Club" books (and we'd read all of those we could find), and decided to try "Florida," and we've been reading Freddy non-stop ever since.
I'm growing very fond of Brooks' gentle, character driven, sometimes satirical humor. I do have a few problems with the books. Brooks' relentless use of "pretty" as an all-purpose intensifier drives me up a wall, and if some editor had only crossed out "pretty" on sight I'd probably enjoy the books about twice as much (I drop "pretty" when reading aloud). I also wouldn't mind if he used "were" instead of "was" for the subjunctive occasionally. And the less of Freddy's poetry we get, the better.
But "Florida," "Detective," "Wiggins for President" (his best title, too bad it had to be changed), and "Ignormus" are certainly classics, and all the ones we've read have had their moments. I'm happy they're back and that I'm finally reading them. Eventually I'll work my way back up to those 50s sci-fi Freddies and see if I like 'em any better...
Never trust a man who would steal from a rhinoceros,
Edward
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the best: my favorite Freddy, September 18, 1998
By A Customer
I consider this the best book in my all-time favorite children's book series. It has humor, wonderful characters, a tight plot, and even a hint of symbolism worthy of another American classic, Moby Dick.
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