This early reader by Edward Marshall is perfect in every way. Three children -- Lolly, Sam, and Spider -- are having fun on the beach. They have just eaten lunch and want to go for a swim, but decide they shouldn't go swimming so soon after eating their hot dogs and lemonade. So, they tell stories. Lolly is first, and she tells a story about a dog, a cat, and a rat. Her story is told in typical See-Jane-Run fashion. It contains neither plot, conflict, nor suspense. Sam and Spider don't like the story.
Sam is the next to tell a story, but Lolly says his story must contain a cat and a rat. Sam's story starts with a reversal of expectations: a rat buys a cat for a pet. Everything about the story is suspenseful: in almost every frame, it appears that the cat is going to eat the rat. As it turns out, though, the cat has a secret favorite food that turns out to not be "rat." A clever, funny, suspenseful tale.
Finally, Spider gets his turn to tell a story. He incorporates the rat and the cat, but they are mere scenery: his tale concerns a monster who creeps along the seashore, looking for children to eat.
Superbly clever and well-written, and the book indirectly teaches children about stories, plot, conflict, and suspense. A Must Read!
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A Cute, Sweet, Funny, & Absolutely ADORABLE Little Story! :)
Review For: Marshall, Edward: "Three By The Sea""Monsters really like kids. On toast!"A lurking monster sneaks silently up upon three children -- two boys and one girl -- who, all unaware, sit telling stories to one another on the seashore.Will the hapless Lolly, Spider, and Sam all be gobbled up, and munched by the Monster whose favorite meal is Kids-on-Toast?!?Read the book, and find out! :)-----(NOTE: My one comp!aint is that the illustrations make the kids look way too fat; but this is just a minor quibble.)
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2006
Review For: Marshall, Edward: "Three By The Sea"
A Cute, Sweet, Funny, & Absolutely ADORABLE Little Story! :)
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2006
"Monsters really like kids. On toast!"
A lurking monster sneaks silently up upon three children -- two boys and one girl -- who, all unaware, sit telling stories to one another on the seashore.
Will the hapless Lolly, Spider, and Sam all be gobbled up, and munched by the Monster whose favorite meal is Kids-on-Toast?!?
Read the book, and find out! :)
-----
(NOTE: My one comp!aint is that the illustrations make the kids look way too fat; but this is just a minor quibble.)
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2016
