Two reviews in the space of one! Written by the lovely Adventureswithmonster, these reviews originally appeared individually on her blog (links at the bottom). We have them together here simply because we like them so much!
Findus Goes Camping by Sven Nordqvist
This is the second Findus story we have read and I am pleased to say we enjoyed it as much as the first (see Findus Plants Meatballs)
This time, Farmer Pettson and his friend, Findus the cat are off on a camping adventure thanks to Findus’ discovery of a ‘dangerous sausage lying around the attic’.
Pettson decides a hike into the mountains is in order so that he can try out his ‘new invention’. Findus, however is too excited to sleep in the tent and wants to camp closer to home … with the comedic addition of the Hens joining the trip, it looks like Findus might just get his way!
Fun and danger ensue as Pettson unveils his new invention, a ‘fishing bow’. Between this and the strange noises Findus hears after dark the camping trip may not have been such a good idea after all…
I shared this story with Bundle Number One and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially like the beautiful illustrations with their little hidden treasures and the gentle pace of the story with it’s now familiar characters. Bundle Number One was enthralled by the story, laughing at the pesky hens laying eggs in the sleeping bag and enjoying the suspense of the night sounds.
Findus and the Fox by Sven Nordqvist
This is the third in our series of Findus and Pettson reviews and these titles are now firm favourites here at Monster House.
In Findus and the Fox, we find farmer Pettson and Findus the cat working to come up with a plan to get rid of a fox who has stolen one of their neighbour Gustavsson’s hens during the night. Gustavsson is ready to shoot the fox if it returns but Findus and Pettson are not in agreement with their neighbour
“Foxes shouldn’t be shot,” said Findus “they should be tricked. That’s what I do.”
So the friends set to work cooking up a spooky plan to scare the fox away and keep their hens safe, will the plan succeed…?
This is another wonderful story, full of friendship and humour, complimented by beautifully detailed illustrations (we still keep finding things we hadn’t noticed hidden in the pictures!).
Bundle Number One particularly enjoyed the culmination of ‘the plan’, I don’t want to give the story away but let’s just say that Gustavsson won’t be trying to shoot any foxes again in a hurry ;-)
