In today's fiction title you will meet Angus, the stuffed highland bull, and his little boy, Jamie. The stories in this title perfectly capture the unique relationship that a child can have with that special stuffed animal.
Anne Fine
Illustrated by Penny Dale
Fiction
For ages 6 to 8
Candlewick Press, 2002, 978-0-7636-3312-7
When Jamie sees a small toy Highland bull in a shop
window, it is love at first sight. Jamie’s mother agrees to buy the toy, but
she won’t let Jamie have it until Christmas. Jamie agrees to this readily, and
while he waits for Christmas to arrive, he makes Angus (for that is the little
bull’s name) a farm to live on. He also tells Angus, who is on a high shelf in
a cupboard, what is going on. After all, it would not do to ignore the toy.
At long last it
is Christmas Day, and Jamie finally gets to hold, cuddle, and play with Angus.
The two are inseparable, and they have many grand adventures together. Not
surprisingly, Angus’s silky white coat soon starts to look rather “scruffy.”
Early on in their relationship Jamie removed a tag that was attached to Angus,
one that said “DRY-CLEAN ONLY.” One day, when Jamie is at school, Granny
decides that Angus needs to be cleaned, and not knowing about the now absent tag,
she puts Angus into the washing machine. Angus comes out looking dreadful and
poor Jamie is heartbroken. Granny, feeling sorry for her grandson, gets Jamie
another toy highland bull that looks exactly like Angus. As he looks at the two
toys, Angus comes to realize that looks are not all that important in the big
scheme of things.
Any child who
shares his or her life with a beloved toy will immediately identify with Jamie.
There is nothing quite like the relationship a child has with a best toy friend.
The six stories in this splendid award-winning book are deliciously warm and
gently humorous. Anne Fine perfectly captures Jamie’s little boy world, and
readers will find it easy to share in his everyday adventures.
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