{"id":276967,"date":"2025-06-06T10:49:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/book-review-homer-price-by-robert-mccloskey-1943\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T10:49:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:49:05","slug":"book-review-homer-price-by-robert-mccloskey-1943","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=276967","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: \u201cHomer Price\u201d by Robert McCloskey (1943)"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span><\/p>\n


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\n<\/span><\/span>Rating: 3.5 out of 5.<\/span><\/div>\n

This is a familiar book cover, if not a familiar book. I\u2019ve seen it all my life. Whether it was on my parent\u2019s dusty bookshelf, in church libraries, and regularly at thrift stores\u2014Homer Price<\/em> is apparently a legend. Now, whether or not all those people who have access to his book have actually read it, hard to say. I\u2019ve got to admit, this book promised more humor than it delivered.<\/p>\n

I know, this reaction might be kicking old Mable in the shins: \u201cHomer Price<\/em> is my favorite childhood book!\u201d she\u2019s crying. \u201cIt\u2019s a classic! How dare you not like it\u2026Fatty!\u201d But I\u2019m just being honest, Mable, I\u2019m sorry. The book lacked the humor I was expecting, and it\u2019s just not as good as others in the same vein\u2014most prominently in my mind at the moment, Rasmus and the Vagabond<\/a><\/em> by Astrid Lindgren (1956). Now there\u2019s a story worth reading again!<\/p>\n

Homer Price <\/em>contains six short stories about the boy, Homer Price, and the weird things that occur in his small town of Centerburg. I\u2019ll go through them individually, but one remark I have<\/em> to make is that McCloskey\u2019s artwork in this book is absolutely delicious!<\/em> It\u2019s no wonder, really, that the cover is so popular\u2014fans of quality illustrations ought to study this man\u2019s work, because it\u2019s top-notch (charcoal?) beauty.<\/p>\n

1. \u201cThe Case of the Sensational Scent\u201d <\/strong>
The opening story is a lighthearted one in many ways, and it\u2019s the robbers\u2019 scenes that really made me think of Rasmus<\/a>. <\/em>I really like the line that won the $2000 prize: \u201cThe after shave lotion with all the distinctive invigorating smell that keeps you on your toes.\u201d(14) Explaining to my kids (ages 13, 11) why <\/em>this was funny made it a whole lot less so.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cThe Case of the Cosmic Comic\u201d <\/strong>
The premise and delivery of this story was great, and it makes me this that I came into this book with the wrong expectations. I blame the blurb by James Daugherty on the back of my copy: \u201cAmerican comic genius in its top form.\u201d This book made me smile, but not because it was so funny. It\u2019s totally a coming-of-age tale where the boys realize their Superhero isn\u2019t all that he\u2019s cracked up to be\u2014and rather than tell anyone, they instead fenagle a way to take advantage of their friends who don\u2019t yet know it. It\u2019s a good story, honestly, and I\u2019m happy to praise Robert for that one.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cThe Doughnuts\u201d <\/strong>
The cover story is also entertaining, if not predictable. What I loved about this one was the illustration on pages 60-61. Really well-done perspective in this image, which I assume came completely from McCloskey\u2019s noggin. It\u2019s a masterful portrait of donut-making gone awry\u2014like a kids\u2019 monochromatic version of a Normal Rockwell painting\u2026maybe. Worth studying.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cMystery Yarn\u201d <\/strong>
This little love story had a whole host of weird elements, like a love-triangle of string collectors who hold a contest to see who can win Miss Terwilliger\u2019s hand. This line really dated the book: <\/p>\n

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\u201cSplendid! \u2026 The American female is beginning to find her rightful place in the business and public life of this nation.\u201d (81) <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now there\u2019s one way to win a lady\u2019s heart! It was in this particular story that I also got really annoyed with the Sheriff\u2019s speech impediment of mixing up words. Reading the book in one\u2019s head, this impediment might be fine, but when reading it aloud to my kids, it really threw off my rhythm:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s as purty a ball a string as I\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s got a toman\u2019s woutch! I mean a woman\u2019s touch!\u201d (83)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

5. \u201cNothing New Under the Sun (Hardly)\u201d
<\/strong>In this tale, a stranger with an odd truck and contraption makes his way into Centerburg. What ensues is an odd mixture of (and confusion about) two classic children\u2019s tales, Rip Van Winkle<\/em> and The Pied Piper<\/em>. After nearly losing the town\u2019s children to a maniac, the Mayor finds himself concerned more about his own image than the kids\u2019 safety. Sounds like modern politics to me!<\/p>\n

6. \u201cWheels of Progress\u201d <\/strong>
This final tale introduces the concept of machine-made houses, where whole neighborhoods could be put up in no time, thanks to pre-built walls and floors. It\u2019s pretty much a prophecy of every suburb today filled with cookie-cutter houses, and I found it intriguing. The ending is a bit odd, though, one guy finding all the buried booze of a few generations past and sleeping past his calling because of it. Not your typical theme in a children\u2019s book!<\/p>\n

And there you have it, a collection of stories that (in their own way) really do stand out as American classics. I guess I owe old Mable an apology: if you go into this book with the right perspective, that it\u2019s a slice of happy Americana and not some humor book bound to make you laugh, it really is a nice collection of stories. I doubt I\u2019ll seek out Robert McCloskey again, but this ended up being a pretty nice book to read to my kids.<\/p>\n

\u00a92024 E.T.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50 Rating: 3.5 out of 5. This is a familiar book cover, if not a familiar book. I\u2019ve seen it all my life. Whether it was on my parent\u2019s dusty bookshelf, in church libraries, and regularly at thrift stores\u2014Homer Price is apparently a legend. 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