Brentwood Library employee, Adam Dickson, has resolved to read 100 books in 2012 and he's offered to share his thoughts about the books with you. Book #1 - The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman: There’s always a part of you that wonders whether there isn’t a grain of truth to some of the stories you read. I’m not going to spoil it for you now though; you’ll have to read this to find out for yourself.
The last time I read “The Whipping Boy”, I was probably in the 4th grade, around nine years old, if I had to hazard a guess. I remembered liking this story then and you might be interested to know that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Whipping Boy is a tale about two children, a prince and his whipping boy. The prince runs away from his castle and drags Jemmy, his servant, along. Among their adventures, the boys run into trouble with soldiers, thieves, and even a dancing bear. However, by the end of the story, they learn a lot about themselves and each other.
It’s funny that once we grow into “adults” we somehow find excuses not to revisit the books we loved as children. Whether we may feel too old for the literature or convince ourselves that we won’t enjoy kids’ stuff anymore, there is always some reason we refuse to go back to the stories that once captured our imaginations growing up.
This book is an excellent read for children. The chapters are divided such that even the most reluctant of readers will be satisfied with the pace of action and dialogue that, while colorful, will draw them into the story rather than leaving them behind. Short enough for small attention spans, but long enough to encourage just one more chapter. Even though this book is most definitely geared towards a younger audience, I would encourage adults to pick this one up too. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from what’s expected and try something you never thought to read. At only 90 pages, you’d probably never suspect that this little book won the Newberry Award in 1987. Peppered with wonderful illustrations by Peter Sis, this is a great and quick little read for both children and adults.
You can find this book under the heading “J FLE” in the Children’s Library. We have 10 copies of this one so please check it out and give it a try!
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