Reviews: (by author)

Milord, Susan. Three about Thurston . New York : Houghton Mifflin, 2005. $15.00

What can you say about Thurston the rooster? He's not really noble and no one could mistake him for a role model, but as these three short tales prove beyond a doubt: he's always Thurston.
In the first episode, Thurston invites his friends Roderick and Mirabelle over for supper. The soup is superb, but what was in that mysterious recipe? Sometimes it's better not to know. Next, Thurston runs afoul of Mirabelle when she overhears him exclaiming at the top of his lungs that nobody really needs chickens. In an eloquent defense of her sex, Mirabelle promptly shows Thurston just how wrong a rooster he can be. Finally, Thurston goes to Roderick's house for a friendly game of cards. Thurston cheats -- of course he does - but no matter what tricks he tries, Roderick seems destined to win the game. What would you do if you were Thurston?
Susan Milord's cocky character is a surefire charmer despite (or perhaps because of) his many flaws. Her spirited and colorful illustrations of Thurston and his cronies combine to make this picture book a young reader's delight. It's bound to keep them laughing.

- Mark Janssen, March 2006

 

Milord, Susan. Willa the Wonderful. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. $15.00.

Susan Milord is the author of many non-fiction books including the Kids' Nature Book and Hands Around the World. She tells a fun and inspiring story in Willa the Wonderful. When Mr. Lane assigns a report on a favorite career, Willa gets to thinking. She will grow up to be a fairy princess! But, after deciding to live as a fairy princess, Willa's choice of future career makes "only bad things happen." She encounters problems on the bus, in gym class, and with friends on the playground. Yet Willa refuses to give up and proves that she has what it takes to be wonderful at her "work." She rescues Jenny's little brother and is heralded as a wonderful fairy princess. The fun, colorful, and lively illustrations are easy to appreciate. This optimistic story warms the heart. It allows children to understand that they can be anything they wish-as long as they, like Willa, make "good things happen."

Marissa Friedman, October 2003

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