Friday, February 9, 2018

McBroom's Zoo

McBroom's Zoo. Sid Fleischman. Illustrated by Kurt Werth. 1972. 40 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Beasts and birds? Oh, I've heard some whoppers about the strange critters out here on the prairie. Why, just the other day a fellow told me he'd once owned a talking rattlesnake. It didn't talk exactly. He said it shook its rattles in Morse code. Well, there's not an ounce of fact in that. Gracious, no! That fellow had no regard for the truth. Everyone knows that a snake can't spell.

Premise/plot: How did Josh McBroom and his family get to have a zoo on their magical one-acre farm?! Well, it started one stormy spring day....when a tornado was spotted. That tornado sucks up ALL the topsoil from his farm, but McBroom won't be beaten by a storm. He'll chase it and see where his magical soil ends up... But the storm didn't just take...it also gave.

My thoughts: I LOVE the McBroom stories. I have read McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm: Three Tall Tales (1966) and McBroom's Ghost (1971). I would read the whole series if I could find them. I love spending time with Josh McBroom who would "rather sit on a porcupine than tell a fib."

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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