Red Carpet

One of the joys of having a child is rediscovering long-since-forgotten books from my own childhood. When I pulled this one off the shelf at the library a few months ago, I recognized it immediately, and it felt like finding an old friend. It's still as fresh and fun as ever, and now a real favorite of my son's. Unlike another reviewer, I didn't find the plot predictable: I thought it was rather clever and unexpected. The drawings are great (and hip in a retro sort of way), and it's very fun to read the rhymed couplets. How this classic has fallen out of print is beyond me. Try to find a used copy if you can!

This was the first of our Five in A Row curriculum purchases for a used book. I have bought most new so far. It was fun waiting for our hard to find book and we were pleased with the condition it was in and how fast it arrived.

This classic 1948 children's poem is another "he-went-that-away." This time readers follow no insects, animals or children--but as the title suggests, a red carpet.The occasion for this silliness is the expected arrival of the Duke of Sultana at the Hotel Bellevue. The doorknobs were shined, the floors were swept and the carpet was set out. But when the doorman, Jim West, unrolled the carpet with his toe, it kept on rolling.Down the corridor floor, through the lobby, out through the door, over the sidewalk "where people were strolling," dodging buses and hacks, over trolley car tracks, and so on.The carpet rolled through town, turned left at Pearl Street, down Main, and at Plum Street turned left again. The Mayor Mr. Potts called the police and Officer Mike O'Shea took up the chase. Squad cars, cycles, motors, and sirens ran up hills and down dales, through orchards and meadows, past workmen and down to the ferry.The plot is very predictable. But children love this bright red carpet, trailing its way through amusing verse and quaint illustrations. (...) Alyssa A. Lappen