Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

This was a John Newbery award winning book. I read it out loud to Benjamin, but neither of us cared for this book very much. It took a long time to get through at over 300 pages and a slow moving story. The story plot was simple, but the book was filled with flashbacks and diversions that neither of us cared for. It was not a book that couldn't be put down. Basically it is about a brother and sister who work at getting the $1.00 needed to buy a puppy, and then their search for this puppy once it disappears.  While in the end, they find Ginger, their now grown-up dog, and know who the culprit who stole him is, we were disappointed that the criminal was not punished. Set in Cranbury, CT in the 1950's is a sweet story with too much fluff for me and my son. 

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Robert McCloskey is an American author and illustrator of children's literature. He was born in 1914 and passed away in 2003.  He is know for some of his books for younger children such as Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal. He won the Caldecott medal for these two and the Caldecott honor for a couple of others. Homer Price was originally written in 1943. My six-year-old enjoyed the book and found it amusing. I found it a bit charming due to the time period, but too silly for my taste. It was a series of different adventures of the main character, a young boy named Homer Price. The men hung out at the barber shop gossiping and in one story, Homer had some dangerous criminals under surveillance and when he called the sheriff he was told to hold them there while the sheriff finished getting his hair cut. Then there was the woman who could not choose which of two men she should marry and she would have dinner with one on one day of the week and dinner with the other on another day. While I did not care much for the book, it was well written and is now considered a modern classic. 

Selling children's books online

For a while, I have contemplated having my own website in addition to selling on Amazon and eBay. I have registered my domain name as Another Look Books.com, so have changed my blog name to match. Now I am working on designing the web page and this may take a while as I am just learning. I am also learning Microsoft Access where I will be entering all books in a database. So far I have been using Microsoft Excel, but this Access will serve me better. It is not a user friendly program and I am teaching myself with a book (from a used book sale of course).  To start off, I think my niche will be vintage children's books, because that is what I love most. The illustrations in some of my books are fantastic and I think that is what I love most about them. I am praying about this new endeavor and for the Lords guidance as I proceed.    

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Just finished reading this to my young son. It was written in 1947 and is set in a charming era; however, the story itself did not appeal to me. The woman lives in an upside down house and is popular with the neighborhood children. Most of the chapters revolve around a child with a behavior problem that his or her mother just cannot seem to deal with. After soliciting advice from other mothers without success, they each end up calling Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, who comes up with the cure for their child. Some were ridiculously silly, like the radish cure, for the child who would not take a bath. The mother is told to let the child go without a bath until so much dirt has accumulated on her skin that radishes can be planted on her. My son thought this was dumb. But most of the others were funny and my son found them to be entertaining. The children's rude or unbecoming behavior did lead to some discussions about proper behavior with my son.  Easy to read and mildly engaging for only young children. 

Sellings used books online

I have been selling used books online for many years. I go to used book sales and thrift stores regularly and this is how I also acquire much of my and my children's reading materials. I tried finding out if someone had written an e-book on how to sell books online and I found this one that looks interesting. I have not ordered it yet, but here is the link.

Click Here!
to learn how to sell books online

Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter

This is a young adult book with easy language and is a quick read. I completed the book in about an hour, but am still thinking about it much later. This book was written in 1961 in the German language and was translated to English in 1970. The story is told from the perspective of a German boy who lives in the same building as Friedrich, a Jewish boy. They are born a week apart and their families become friends. At first the Jewish family is much better off, financially, than the German family as they have been affected by the German economy. As Hitler comes into power, slowly things start to change and Friedrich's family become victims of Jewish persecution. The situation escalates as the story progresses. While the book does not go into the concentration camps, there is enough horror in the everyday life of a Jewish family at that time. It is a sad look into the ugliness of the sinful human nature. No happy ending in this book. Older children and adults should read this to be reminded of a horrific historic time, which should never be repeated.

Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary has written over 30 books for children. I can remember reading her Ramona books as a child and relating well to the characters. She understands the ways of children and this shows in her true-to-life characters. Henry Huggins was her first book written in 1950. It was very easy reading and basically is about a boy, the dog he finds, and his adventures with the dog and his friends. Not much education value in this one, but it was a fun read. Kids still played outside after school in this age before video games and computers. I did have to explain to my young son what a typewriter was as he has never seen or heard of one.