Tuesday, February 23, 2016

McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm

McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm: Three Tall Tales. Sid Fleischman. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1985/1997. 64 pages. [Source: Bought]

This early chapter book features three "tall tales" by Sid Fleischman. The three tall tales are "McBroom Tells the Truth," "McBroom and the Big Wind," and "McBroom's Ear." Here's how the first story begins: "There has been so much tomfool nonsense told about McBroom's wonderful one-acre farm that I had better set matters straight. I'm McBroom. Josh McBroom. I'll explain about the watermelons in a minute." I don't know about you, but this one had me at hello. I got the impression that the book would be funny and charming and quirky and unique. I wasn't wrong either!

The first story explains how the McBroom family came to own a "one-acre farm." He bought, or thought he was buying EIGHTY acres. But he was tricked into buying an 80-acre deep bog. But the joke isn't on him, for as luck would have it, a "dry spell" reveals that the topsoil is so rich, it should be kept in a bank. All three stories focus on how wonderful-and-magical this farm is.

I really loved all three stories. This one is a great book to share with young readers.


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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