Book 47 Freddy and the Space Ship

 

 

Freddy and the Spaceship by Walter Rollin Brooks fulfilled the category “Book that has been on your TBR list the longest.” I had quite a few other titles for this one, including The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

For this category, I opted to go back in my reading past. (And no, I didn’t put it off because the other books were huge.) I wanted to make this one special.

Freddy and the Space Ship, written in 1953, tells the tale of Freddy the pig and an annoying house guest. That wouldn’t have made a good title. Instead, the author used the space flight Freddy and other farm animals participated in. They planned to go to Mars. Spoiler, they ended up right back at their farm. In the end, it was a good thing. Freddy, in disguise, finally foiled the villainous house guest and saved the day. The book is old school, silly, kid-fun, and absolutely ridiculous. And I loved it.

Why did I choose this oldie but goodie? Story time.

In first grade, we had a special reading group of five children. All of us were advanced readers. (I was because I had two older sisters and tons of books. Thanks, Mom and Dad.) We read Charlotte’s Web, and I was hungry for more. On our class’s next trip to the library, I went right over to the chapter books and pulled out Freddy and the Space Ship. The librarian refused to let me take the book, telling me it was too advanced. I was rather angry. Nothing would convince that woman to allow me to borrow the title. So, out of spite, I checked out The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter over and over again for the next month. (I love that story and have a personal copy.)

The point is the library book-blocked me. That ain’t right. Children need to be encouraged to read beyond their “level,” to be challenged, and to try new things. My educational background and twenty years at the library tell me children like and need new books, bigger stories, and even easier tales, too. Also, it was a library book. If I couldn’t read it, I’d return it for something new. Or my parents could read it to me. It was a small school. That librarian had to know that Mrs. Black’s class had advanced readers. I’m not convinced I could’ve read and understood all of Freddy and the Space Ship. But the librarian should have let me try.

After over forty years, I finally read THE book that’s been on my TBR list the longest.

I give Freddy and the Space Ship by Walter Rollin Brooks Five Death Ray Flashlights.