I had so much fun reviewing Tim Egan’s picture books, I decided to take a look at a few more.
“Burnt Toast on Davenport Street” features Arthur Crandall and his wife Stella, two happy dogs who live in an apartment on Davenport Street. Arthur burns the toast every morning, but Stella doesn’t seem to mind too much. One morning, Arthur spares the life of a fly buzzing around the kitchen, who grants Arthur three wishes. Arthur sarcastically says that he would like a new toaster, he wants the bully crocodiles who hang out on the corner turned into squirrels, and he wants to live on a tropical island peopled with crazy natives who sing and dance all the time. Not believing his wishes will be granted, he is surprised to find that they have, but in a very unusual way.
“Distant Feathers” is the story of Feathers, a giant red bird who claims he’s from another planet. When he stumbles onto Sedrick’s property, he gives Sedrick quite a scare, being the biggest bird around and all. He’s taller than all of the buildings in the town, and he loves bread. Sedrick finds him some bread and they make fast friends, but there’s just one problem – Feathers keeps destroying buildings and knocking things over, and it takes the entire town an entire day to bake enough bread to keep him fed. He’s turning into a huge pain in the neck. But when a storm comes up and blows him away, the town comes to realize just how much Feathers really meant to them after all.
“Friday Night at Hodges’ Café” is about an elephant named Hodges who is considered to be the best pastry chef in the city. If it weren’t for his duck, that is. See, everyone likes the duck, but he’s a little odd. He likes to dive into the food, or throw it around the restaurant.
One night three tigers came into the café, ignoring the “No Tigers” sign on the door. They stir up some trouble, threatening to eat all the animals there. But then the duck comes to the rescue, throwing food and creating a disturbance, in some cases landing his shot right on one of the tigers. It was a bit of mayhem, but you have to give the duck some credit for loyalty. The tigers get some delicious desserts tossed their way and end up tasting them, and suddenly they lose their desire to eat the customers.
Tim Egan has a clever sense of humor that he works into his stories in delightful ways. I enjoy reading his books and I appreciate the wry wit he displays as he tells tales that will entertain young and old.
(“Burnt Toast on Davenport Street” was published in 1997, “Distant Feathers” was published in 1998, and “Friday Night at Hodges’ Café” was published in 1994, all by Houghton Mifflin and all illustrated by the author.)
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Children’s Picture Books about Farming
Picture Books about Children of Color