I grabbed this story as a BOCD, almost at random, before a road trip with my 3 boys. I was not at all familiar with the author, but the cover appealed to me and the description sounded like it would appeal to my boys (ages 8, 11, and 13). This review was written after listening to the book, but most of it should apply to the print edition as well.

The story is absurd, and full of unrelated tangents, which work together to make it hilarious. It is even more absurd to someone who knows about Delaware (as I do) - like Katie, I was saying "there are no mountains in Delaware!" before they ever left Pelt. But setting aside those kinds of quibbles and just soaking in the story itself, I was able to enjoy the adventure. However, I did find myself tiring of the absurdity and silliness after a while - I felt like it should have been 20 to 25% shorter.

My boys also enjoyed the book. The 13yo was raving about it to a friend (quoting entire sections) when he got to camp. The 11yo says the beginning is kind of slow. The 8 yo has no complaints.

The penultimate track on the final CD is someone singing M. T. Anderson's version of the (bogus) Delaware State Song - again, hilarious in its absurdity! Not sure if the lyrics appear in the print edition - if not, try to get the BOCD just to hear it!

I heard Bill Lepp when he came to the storyteller's festival in Ann Arbor a few years back - both at a middle school and at The Ark - and thought he was quite hilarious. Unfortunately, these stories didn't quite live up to those other performances. They are funny, but require a bit more cultural context (that is, they are more funny to adults than kids) and just didn't make me laugh quite as much.

I suppose this is a useful way to introduce kids to the King Midas myth (legend? story?). But wow! It's preachy and moralistic. And all the adults are so dismissive of John - was that true to the era (originally published 1952), or just another example of the annoying writing style? My 8yo said it was kind of cheesy but liked it well enough as we read it. The 11yo (who read it to himself) said it was too predictable.

This isn't as strong on the science content as many of the books in the "Scientists in the Field" series. However, it has a really strong and compelling storyline that is sure to keep most readers engaged.

We have a romertopf unglazed clay pot. The main thing we use it for is roasting chicken, and it makes great roast chicken, but I was looking for some more ideas on how to use it. This book did NOT deliver - only 2 of the recipes are designed for the Romertopf. In fact, the cookbook relies on seemingly dozens of different styles of clay vessels, in different shapes and sizes (described in the initial chapter). But what is the difference between a glazed clay dish and a ceramic dish? And if nothing, then what is the unique aspect of this recipe collection? Perhaps I needed to spend more time with it, but I was turned off by the need for dozens of new dishes.