Burnt Toast on Davenport Street

by Tim Egan

Overview

When a magic fly grants Arthur Crandall three wishes, he's not very impressed, especially since he doesn't believe in magic flies. So he's not particularly careful about what he wishes for: a new toaster, a solution to the bullies down on the street corner, and for his third wish . . . let's just say that life on Davenport Street will never be quite the same for the Crandalls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547562353
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/31/1997
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tim Egan is the author and illustrator of several offbeat and humorous tales for children. He is consistently recognized for his individuality and delightful illustrations. Born in New Jersey, Tim moved to California to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He still lives in southern California with his wife, Ann, and their two sons. To learn more about Tim Egan, visit his Web site at www.timegan.com. For a complete list of books by Tim Egan, visit www.houghton mifflinbooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

In Metropolitan Cow and Friday Night at Hodges' Cafe, Egan offered wry comments on friendship and loyalty. But this less robust tale seems to trade chiefly in quirkiness. Dog couple Arthur and Stella of 623 Davenport Street have a "nice life. Not perfect, but nice." One day, as Arthur prepares to swat a fly, the fly offers three wishes in exchange for its life. Arthur, a skeptic, glibly asks for a new toaster (he always burns the toast) and that five streetcorner crocodiles, who harass him daily, become harmless squirrels; pressed for the third wish, he tosses off a request "to live on an exotic tropical island filled with crazy natives who run around singing and dancing all day long." The fly mistakenly transforms the old toaster into a squirrel and the crocs into toasters, but Arthur and Stella do awaken in a paradise where llamas, lions and "hippo-like" creatures shake maracas and wear fruit on their hats. Egan contrasts the dogs' refined middle-class abode (with its tasteful pawprint-and-bone-motif wallpaper) with the flamboyance of the island, whose broad-faced, nearsighted residents resemble Babar the elephant. The deadpan text humorously counterpoints the overstated illustrations, but it doesn't establish much of a point for this shaggy-dog story. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3Another offbeat tale by the author of Metropolitan Cow (Houghton, 1996). Arthur and Stella Crandall are happy dogs who have a pleasant life on suburban Davenport Street. Pleasant, that is, except for the alligator gang that hangs out on the street corner and torments the couple. One morning, a magical fly promises Arthur three wishes if he'll refrain from using his swatter. The skeptical pooch agrees and kiddingly asks for a new toaster so he won't always burn the toast, for the bullies to be turned into harmless squirrels, and for the chance to live on an exotic tropical isle. The fly mistakenly reverses the first two wishes, but the Crandalls do wake up to find their bed surrounded by lush vegetation, unusual wildlife, and chanting animals dressed in native garb. After they have their fill, they beg to go home. Continuously repeating the phrase, "Burnt toast on Davenport Street," they magically return to their house where, despite a new toaster, Arthur manages to burn the toast. Egan's humorous plot is easy to follow, and the characters are believable; Arthur's cynicism is particularly amusing. Delightful watercolor illustrations add zest to the story, their colors clearly differentiating between the fantastic and more realistic elements. A balance is restored in the end: the good dogs are rewarded, the nasty alligators are punished, and a fine time is had by allespecially by young listeners. Sure to be popular with fans of James Marshall's "George and Martha" books (Houghton), this will be an amusing story-time crowd-pleaser.Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI

School Library Journal

"Sure to be popular with fans of James Marshall's George and Martha books, this will be an amusing story-time crowd-pleaser." School Library Journal, Starred

From the Publisher