Overview / 简介: |
Dick King-Smith brings his signature wit and charm to the Stepping
Stone line with a lovable new puppy who's sure to capture readers' hearts.
Smasher is always getting into trouble, whether it's chasing chickens,
chewing up Mrs. Buzzard's slippers, or breaking all her china. Now she wants to
get rid of him. Can Farmer Buzzard find a way to save him? Or is Smasher in the
doghouse...for good? |
From Organization / 国外机构评价: |
| Gr. 2^-4. Though a man of very few words, Farmer Buzzard has a very soft heart. So when his adored collie delivers a clumsy, large, downright ugly pup that does not at all resemble its mom or litter mates, he is shocked but nonetheless smitten by "Smasher." Even when Smasher chases the chickens, Farmer Buzzard can't punish him. But when the bumbling pup devours the Buzzards' leg-of-lamb dinner, soils Mrs. Buzzard's beloved sitting-room furnishings, and chews his way through the bedroom, something must be done. Tongue-in-cheek humor erupts into raucous scenes of hilarity when Smasher is loose in the house and when he returns, fully grown, to "attack" a burglar in a final scene reminiscent of the climax of Steven Kellogg's Pinkerton, Behave! (1979). Richard Bernal's soft pencil art endearingly pictures the wrinkled pup getting into mischief, then returning to the farm at his angular master's side as a "noble" bullmastiff. A wonderful time awaits readers of this winning chapter book, who will find it a romp of a read. Ellen Mandel |
Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| Farmer Buzzard and his wife are a hick-talking couple whose silly unintelligent dog provides little entertainment and zero laughs in this outdated chapter book designated, of all things, as "Humor." When a litter of pups is born, Smasher, looking nothing like the others, is told by Mr. Buzzard, "Kindest thing I could do for you...would be to knock you on the head," and is described as looking like a "freak." He reiterates his plans to his wife, "I shall have to knock him on the head," and explains the dog's primary flaw as being, "Ugly as sin." Later, after Smasher's first bout of naughtiness, Mrs. Buzzard informs her husband, "He wants a beating, he does, to teach him a lesson," and although no beating is given, Mr. Buzzard tells Smasher's mother, "You ought to have learned him better." Smasher again shows his colors true colors when he steals a leg of lamb (which he takes to the sofa to consume), urinates on the sofa (the armchairs too), chews the baubles off the bedspread fringe, and commits other infractions too numerous to include, after which the farmer secretly imprisons the dog in a field barn, where he attempts to teach him some manners. Through dumb luck, Smasher eventually saves the day. This book is inappropriate for its target audience, probably second grade level readers. In addition to the constant use of offensive, stereotypical hillbilly-like speech, violence (in thought if not in action), and ridiculous dog behavior, a word that rhymes with "witch," meaning "female dog," and used twice, should provide the ultimate deterrent. |
About the Author / 作者介绍: |
| *Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England,
surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to
teaching and then to writing children's books.
*Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call
it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children,
meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment
from what he does.
*Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig , which was
recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy
Award.
*Dick currently lives with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about
three miles from the house where he was born.
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