Troll Country

This is a cute little book that we all enjoyed. ['We' being me, my son (4 y.o) and daughter (6 y.o.)] It tells the tale of a family and the local troll. Dad is a bit cynical, but first mother and then daughter meet him and outwit him. The book is described as a "Dial Easy To Read" but I wouldn't necessarily say that is true. Then again they don't give a recommended age range. That being the case, let me briefly describe the book to you. There are 56 pages of large font text. In general, I would say that maybe half of each page has text, the rest a drawing. Besides the names the sorts of vocabulary you run across will be words like: around, inside, cross, market, shortcut, bridge, clumsy, smelled, probably, thumbs, and the like. This means that most 6 to 7 y.o.'s probably won't be able to read this book. Which is not to say that they won't love having it read to them. Four Stars. Great Read-aloud. Suitable to shared reading. Very good story, especially for a Primer.

This book is a wonderful children's book that should be part of everyone's collection. The protagonist- Elsie Fay Johnson, outwits a rather lumbering and not too intelligent troll.

I believe that Edward Marshall was a pen name that James Marshall used for many of his early books. I don't know why, or why he dropped it later on.This funny story should definitely be returned to print. It's a bit wordier than some of Marshall's later books, and it doesn't have any sequels, but it is charming, amusing, and memorable. It's also a good early-reader that features a quick-thinking little-girl heroine. A great book for all kids, and especially for girls.