Customer Reviews

Freddy and Mr. Camphor (Freddy Collection)

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Long after Walter Brooks has earned his eternal reward, he ismaking a paradise here on earth for fans of Freddy! Freddy andMr. Camphor is one of the best Freddy's out there. If you don't love Freddy, you'll love Mr. Camphor. If you don't love Mr. Camphor, there's always Bannister to adore. If not Bannister, well, there's Mrs. Wiggins, or Jinx, or the Webbs, or cousin Augustus and his relatives. One thing is certain, you won't leave this book without a new friend. Walter Brooks does for the animal kingdom what PG Wodehouse does for humankind by creating a happy fantasyland where nothing ever goes so wrong that it can't be undone, and it is always undone with wit and sagacity.

It is hard to imagine it happening to Freddy the Pig, but gradually his busy life as pig, poet, banker, detective, and newspaperman was wearing him out. Even his good friend Jinx the Cat could see that Freddy needed a change. But Freddy didn't see how he could leave all his responsibilities. Finally, his salvation came in the form of a help wanted advertisement for a caretaker at the estate of the wealthy Mr. Jimson Camphor.

The job seemed perfect. Freddy got to live on a houseboat while he guarded the grounds and mowed the expansive lawn. If it hadn't been for a chance meeting with Waldo and Elmo, a pair of dejected hoptoads, Freddy would have thought he was in heaven. But the toads reveal that all is not well. Simon the Rat and his clan have moved into the Camphor attic and, in a fit of random destructiveness, have chewed away the faces on the portraits that are stored there.

Nor is that the worst of it. Mrs. Winch, the housekeeper, turned out to be the estranged wife of Zebedee Winch and his son Horace, whom the reader may remember from Freddy's trip to Florida, where he gave the animals no end of problems. This time is no different. Freddy is locked up, a plot is hatched against him and Mr. Camphor returns to find Freddy accused of vandalism and theft. A dejected Freddy returns to the Bean Farm, determined to undo the damage.

Of course, things are not perfect on the farm either Webb the Spider is on a campaign to convince the insects that they should abstain from eating the Victory Gardens that are providing extra food for the war effort. He is opposed by Zero, the anarchist horsefly, and appeals to Freddy for help. Certainly, a pig's work is never done.

Somehow, of course, all is made right, but it takes all of Freddy's ingenuity, the cooperation of the farm animals, and even an array of militant fleas to bring all the culprits to justice. In the world of the Bean Farm, teamwork, friendship, and an honest determination to do the right thing are the tools that make the difference. As always, Brooks' lessons are painless fun. He displays a touch for gentle yet satirical caricature that cannot help but please both his younger audience and us doddering, older readers who remember the days before noir fiction and, like Freddy, occasionally need to take a break