Johnny Morris's Animal Story Book ¦ Animal Stories

Interspersed among a collection of varied stories are introductions by Johnny Morris and verses chosen by him. A book with such a well-known name to it has a head start, so it's a pity that the tales are at so many different levels of both readability and interest. It was difficult to find one child to whom the book would appeal as a whole and so it's difficult to recommend for the bookshop. However, some of the stories read aloud well and the variety and range may well make it a useful book for the teacher working across the middle school. Ruth Manning-Sanders' collection has a far greater sense of completeness. An elephant who becomes the first to ride a tricycle, another who, five years later, remembers a man who cured him, a rascal baboon, as human as his master, and an enticing hedgehog with bad legs, are among the extraordinary creatures whose (true) stories are told. The book was read with enthusiasm by nine-year-olds and individual stories made excellent storytime material for the same age group.