Red Ranger Came Calling [Paperback]

Berkeley Breathed (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 1 and up

Using glowing, hypnotic images and a funny, provocative text, the narrator relives his father's most amazing childhood Christmas. A moody young boy living with his aunt on an island, "Red" Breathed sees himself as the "Red Ranger from Mars", his hero from the movie serials, and cannot picture life without the gift of a Red Ranger bicycle. Red is far too "swanky a human being" to believe in Santa Claus, but nevertheless he pays a visit to the aged island hermit, Lord Sander Clos, rumored to be the legendary man himself, now living in lonely, joyless retirement. This meeting triggers an emotional response within the self-absorbed Red and leads to the most remarkable bicycle ever delivered on Christmas morning. This book represents Berkeley Breathed at the top of his form.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For Breathed (A Wish for Wings That Work; Goodnight Opus), 'tis the season to be laugh-out-loud funny one page and cause a tiny tear to well in a reader's eye the next. Retelling the autobiographical story that his late father related every Christmas Eve, Breathed introduces a cynical young man (self-named The Red Ranger of Mars) who meets his match in a retired Santa (When Red snaps, "They say you're Santa Claus," the old man retorts that Santa is "a foolish story for small children. He's a big jolly bribe to control their criminal instincts"). Breathed's hallucinatory artwork is as wondrous and as unpredictable as his tale. Reaffirming a reader's belief in the spirit that is Santa, this could become a perennial seller. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. Spending the Christmas season with his aunt on a "damp little island somewhere off the country's upper left-hand corner," Red discovers that the reclusive, ill, and ancient man living nearby is Santa Claus. Red (short for his hero Buck Tweed, the Red Ranger of Mars) is too jaded to believe in Santa, and yet when the Santa asks him to believe, he tries. On Christmas morning, hoping against hope for his heart's desire, a Buck Tweed bicycle, Red finds instead a treasure unlooked for, within himself. While Breathed, author/artist of the cartoon strip "Bloom County," often seems to look over the heads of children to wink at the adults in the audience, there's enough that's childlike to keep kids involved, whether its the reassuring homeliness of the hero or his wholehearted longing for the bicycle. The extraordinary, full-color illustrations seem three-dimensional and will intrigue children and adults alike. A most original Christmas book. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316102490
• ISBN-13: 978-0316102490
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 0.2 x 11.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Holidays & Festivals > Christmas

More About the Author

Berkeley Breathed lives and works in Santa Barbara, California and is the proud owner of a gentle pit bull named Ridley, a deaf dachshund named Milly, and a refugee mutt from the Puerto Rican streets named Pilar--splendidly flawed dogs, every one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cure for Cynicism, December 3, 1997

By 

"rrr338" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Ranger Came Calling: A Guaranteed True Christmas Story (Hardcover)

I'll confess right here ... it's usually tough for me to get into the Christmas spirit. And most Christmas books for kids strike me as either lame attempts to rehash worn-out imagery... or stories which are really written for adults to recapture some "warm fuzzies" from their memory banks (never mind the kids, thank you).

This book must contain some powerful stuff ... if it can get a cynical crumudgeon like me to read it over and over to my son. Breathed begins his story with the moping, skeptical, don't-trust- anyone-too-much attitude which I immediately find familiar. But... then ... he magically weaves an unlikely tale which transforms that feeling into one of genuine hope. The "Santa" character is wonderfully (and appropriately) ambiguous. The reader,as well as the story's narrator, is not quite sure whether this guy is the real thing -- or yet another impostor. He doesn't fit the mold, that's for sure. But he does come through (at least it seems it was him) in the end. Oh sleighbells! Don't just take my word for it, read the gosh-darn thing, marvel at Breathed's quirky illustrations. And then feel the swell of hope, which is more than just wishing for nifty presents. A sure winner for children of all ages!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas: Belief goes both ways, December 21, 2000

By 

E. Lyons (Portland OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Ranger Came Calling (Paperback)

I remember standing in a bookstore (remember bookstores?) one Christmas season and noticing this book in hardcover on the bottom shelf in the cartoon section. I recognized Berke Breathed's name from Bloom County and thought it'd be worth a look see. I'd missed his sharp sarcastic wit since he retired Bloom County.

I stood there for a good 30 minutes reading the book from cover to cover, every single page. Beautiful, humorous writing; hilarious artwork... and a message. You didn't really get that much during the Bloom County days.

When I got to the end I was in tears. My sister was shopping with me, and I called her over and said, "Read this from the very beginning, every word, don't peak ahead. Stand here until you're done". Soon we both had tears in our eyes

What a funny beautiful way to describe what the love of Christmas does for us:

Sometimes folks need something to believe in.

Sometimes folks need someone to believe in them.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most magically wonderful books ever written!!!!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Ranger Came Calling (Paperback)

After reading "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg, I didn't think I would ever find a more enjoyable storybook. I was wrong. This one ranks along side "Polar..." as one of the greatest storybooks ever - and not only among Christmas stories. The emotions expressed by the children and adults to whom I have read this book are absolutely fantatstic. If you make it through this book without belly-laughing one minute and crying the next, you just aren't alive!!! If you read any storybook in your entire life for pure enjoyment, READ THIS ONE!!!!!!! If it ever comes out again in hardcover, buy it quick. Its a collectible. If it doesn't, buy it in soft-cover. Its still a collectible!