Janet Morgan Stoeke
1 The continuing saga of Minerva Louise
When I read the original tale of "Minerva Louise" by Janet Stoeke I was charmed. It's rare that an author packs so much great storytelling punch in such a little package. So when I discovered that Minerva Louise, the extraordinarily curious chicken, had further adventures to her name, I immediately located "Minerva Louise and the Red Truck". Just as great as its predecessor, this tale tells the story of a curious member of the poultry family and her attempts to make sense of the world around her.
Minerva Louise (who is prone to loving things) loves her farm's red truck. A playful foul, she likes to dress up in the abandoned bandanas she finds in the back and create tea parties out of tools and flowerpots. One day, while playing, the truck jerks to life and Minerva finds herself driving about. While out she translates the things she sees into farm-based items. A backyard swimming pool is a lake. Golfers are farmers hard at work in their fields. Best of all, a church (to a chicken's eye) is nothing more than a, "silly barn wearing a hat!". In a nice section of the book Minerva spies a construction site and decides that it must be a farm for other trucks. Hither and yon are baby trucks and big strong ones as well. By the end of the day she's happy with what she has seen, but she's glad that the red truck has returned back to her home. That is, until she sees a bright and shiny fire engine!
Minerva is the Amelia Bedelia of the farm world. It's sweet to see how everything fits into her perceptions and misconceptions. Kids reading her books can recognize where she's wrong and feel superior that they know more than this adventurous chicklet. For my own part, I was happy that the illustrations of the little heroine show her joy and contentment so clearly. She's just so darn perky and pleased with everything she sees that it's a joy to watch her. This particular book combines farm life with construction sites. For those kids who are really into trucks and trailers, this might be an ideal storytime reading selection. It's difficult not to love the plucky (ha ha!) Minerva Louise so definitely take the time to check her out. If you've never seen a chicken beam with contentment, this should be the book for you.
2 Minerva Louise and the Red Truck
This book about a Minerva Louise adventure was a first for my five year old son and me, and he has never laughed harder at a story. The illustrations are simple and humorous, and the story about Minerva Louise's creative misperceptions is hilarious. I've ordered a bunch of these for gifts for friends and family!
3 Minerva Louise and the Red Truck
This book about a Minerva Louise adventure was a first for my five year old son and me, and he has never laughed harder at a story. The illustrations are simple and humorous, and the story about Minerva Louise's creative misperceptions is hilarious. I've ordered a bunch of these for gifts for friends and family!
