Four on the Shore

 By Edward Marshall

Sometimes these books are under James Marshall.  Because they are both the same person.

Lolly Sam and Spider make up stories on the lake to scare Willy.  They are terrible stories.  None of them are scary in the least.

 Each story is tacked onto the last to try and up the anti.  They're poorly written with simplistic explanations for things.  They're written exactly the way a story would be if it was told off the cuff by an 8 year old.

And it's hilarious, of course.  These books are just as good as anything else.  They're engaging for anyone over the age of four, but they're laugh out loud funny for anyone over 6.

The Piggy in the Puddle

 By Charlotte Pomerantz
Illustrated by James Marshall

I picked this one up because it's James Marshall.  The verse rhymes and mostly matches, but there's lots of repetition and my husband and I found it fairly annoying.

 My daughter was nuts about it.  I had to read it again and again.  Lots of rhyming nonsense words.

Obviously the pictures are Fantastic.

The corresponding Reading Rainbow episode is disappointing.  They did a claymation version of it and the models didn't have nearly as much character as the original drawings by Marshall.

Miss Nelson is Back

 By Harry Allard
Illustrated by James Marshall


A pretty popular series. This is the second book.  We can't have it in the house because Viola Swamp's picture is on the back and it's too scary!

I read it to myself when I go to my parents' house.  I'll have to get the other two in the series eventually.

This is typical Marshall style humour, even if it isn't written by him.

Mr. Blandsworth is the best part of the book.  Look at that tie.

If you have American Netflix, it was featured on an early episode.

Willis

 By James Marshall

I'm making a point of collecting all of the James Marshall that I can.  They can be difficult to find in the library, and when I was younger, we used to repeatedly take them out, anyway.

 Most of Marshall's books have several sequels, but Willis is a one-off.

It's still completely brilliant.  Great characters, ridiculous circumstances, and everything magically comes together in the end.

The story is told more in text than picture, which is unusual for Marshall, but it's still absurd and charming.

George and Martha

 By James Marshall

I ordered this second hand, not realizing just how great this edition is.

I would totally recommend getting this specific edition just for the forward by Maurice Sendak, which consists mostly of him excitedly spoiling all of his favourite moments in the book.

The stories are simple and short.  My daughter doesn't get the jokes yet, but she will in time.  Meanwhile, I read it on my own time and laugh out loud.

Everyone should, at the very least, take this book out of the library.  It's a timeless classic, universally beloved.

Pocketful of Nonsense

 By James Marshall

I buy anything I see written by James Marshall or his alter ego Edward Marshall

 This book is a bunch of childhood rhymes, mostly.  Some of them are written by him.  The pictures are pretty entertaining.

My daughter doesn't understand these much.  But I'm happy that I have it in my collection.