Twain, Mark and Philip Stead
The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, 152 pgs. Illustrated by Erin Stead. Doubleday Books, 2017. $24.99
Content: G.
Johnny lives with his
mean grandfather and his pet chicken.
When Johnny’s grandfather forces him to take the chicken to sell into
town, Johnny meets a woman who trades him blue seeds for the chicken. After the blue seeds grow a flower, Johnny
eats the flower and then is able to understand animals. The animals become his friends and help him
build a nice house and have an adventure with rescuing the prince.
The beginning of this book was fun and
although it was sad and kind of dark, I thought it would be a great Mark Twain
short story, but as it progressed it took a lot of confusing turns. I’m not sure any kid would stick with this
story and it’s a bit of a stretch to sell this as Mark Twain’s. The story line is entertaining; however, it
is hard to wade through all the extra comments from Philip Stead to get to the narrative. The vocabulary is high for younger readers,
but the message seems too simple for older readers.
The illustrations were pretty amazing though and I liked Johnny and the
animals—I just wish their story wasn’t distractedly interrupted over and over with
commentary that was pointless.
EL –
OPTIONAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
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