Burnt Toast on Davenport Street

I was giggling as I listened to my husband read this aloud to my kindergartener and her [...]sister tonight--and, estimating conservatively, it's probably the tenth time I've heard the story. The girls were also enjoying themselves, pointing out the magic fly's inaccuracies ("That's not supposed to be a squirrel!!!") and chanting "Burnt toast on Davenport Street, burnt toast on Davenport Street" right along with the homesick Stella and Arthur.

My older one has decided (9 months in advance) that she'd like to be the book's grass-skirted llama for Halloween next year. (And speaking of Halloween, fans of this book might also enjoy Egan's Halloween/Frankensteinian tale, The Experiments of Dr. Vermin.)

Bottom line: clever, hilarious, and engaging for both kids and their grown ups.
Warning: The phrase "Oola Oola Oola ooh" may become very commonplace in your household. And how exactly does one make a llama costume?

This is probably one of the most original works I have had the pleasure of reading in some time now. It is just down right quirky! For some reason I was instantly able to identify with Arthur Crandell and his world. I have read this particular work to several of my third grade classes and it keeps them absolutely enthralled during the whole reading. The author is certainly blessed with a strange and wonderful imagination and it comes out in this droll text and even more droll illustrations, which, by the way, are absolutely a delight. The colors and situations are very, very detailed and yet simple. If you care to find out just how detailed they are, have a pack of third graders go over each picture with you pointing this and that out! The story moral is quite simple...be careful for what you wish for, you might just get it, is classic. This is certainly one you need to find and add to your library. I highly recommend this one.

Arthur Crandall and his wife are dogs who live on Crandall Street. One morning, a fly interrupts Crandall's usual burning of the breakfast toast. Crandall doesn't believe the fly is magic, and when offered three wishes in exchange for the fly's life, he makes some pretty crazy choices. This book plays on the time-tested theme: Watch out, or you may get what you wish for. There is a little tension in the book, but mostly the book is humorous and not too scary. Altogether, it contains about 800 words.

This book is truely original, and I do not think that there will be another like it. Arthur and Stella Crandall are two dogs that live a very simple life. One thing that is very familiar about their life is that every morning while Arthur is making breakfast, he burns the toast. One day, a magic fly flies in and promises to grant Arthur three wishes in turn that Arthur does not [swat] him. Arthur, not believing the fly, makes wishes that come into his head, and he doesn't really think about them. The wishes end up coming true, and you will never believe what happens to Arthur and Stella unless you read the book. My favorite character was Stella. I would recommend this imaginative story to anyone.

Arthur and Stella Crandall are two dogs who have a quiet, happy life. "Almost perfect, but not quite." Two things keep their lives from being completely perfect: one is that Arthur continually burns the toast in the morning and two are the 5 mean alligators that hang about on the street corner and continually taunt him and Stella on their morning walk.

Well, life goes on as usual (the sun rises, the toast burns, and all is well) until one day a fly buzzes through the window. Arthur raises his flyswatter to smack the thing when the fly cries out "Wait!" Turns out, the fly is a magic fly and in return for Arthur not swatting him, the fly will grant three wishes. "'Oh come on,' says Arthur, `that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." At the fly's insistence, Arthur comes up with three ridiculous wishes: a new toaster, for the crocodiles to turn into squirrels and for him and his wife to be magically transported to a beautiful island where the natives sing and dance all day long.

Arthur, of course, doesn't believe any of this until some time later when he comes into the kitchen to find a squirrel running about and his toaster missing. What's more odd are the five new, shiny toasters sitting on the street corner where the crocs used to be. How odd!! However, that's nothing compared to what happens when he and Stella wake up on a lush, tropical island with the odd natives offering them fresh fruit from a silver platter!! Good grief, his wishes DID come true!!

Mr. Egan has written and illustrated a very amusing tale for story savvy children. Arthur's sarcastic comments to the "magic fly" will delight children who have grown up with (and possibly grown tired of) the old spare-me-and-I'll-grant-you-three-wishes fables. The pictures are big, bold and beautiful, drawing the reader right into the story (a note tacked to the fridge with a magnet reads "bones, milk"). Turning the page and finding Arthur and Stella on a tropical island while still in their bed adds the perfect, hilarious and surreal touch to this wonderful story. Highly recommended!!