Rufus the Writer
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Want to encourage a child to write creatively? Introduce him to Rufus! The joy of writing (and reading) fills every page of this charming picture book.
Why have a lemonade stand when you can have a story stand? That’s what Rufus, a boy with a big imagination, decides. And once he’s in business, he starts creating little gems for his friends and family. Millie and Walter trade a shell for his story called “Why Orange Is the Best Color.” Rufus writes little sister Annie a story for her birthday about a girl who shrinks to the size of a teacup. Sara trades flowers for a story about a family of buttons. And then they all sit down and read the wonderful stories together.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Instead of selling lemonade, Rufus decides to open a "story stand." He barters his stories for offerings from his friends, a diverse group of colors and sizes. Millie and her brother Walter are going swimming. "I'll take one story, please. How much?" asks Walter. "Just bring me a special shell from the beach," Rufus replies, and starts writing. "Red and Yellow got married and had a baby named Orange," he begins, as the characters are shown as fish swimming among seaweed. Rufus trades a story about a cat for a newborn kitten, then remembers that his sister Annie's birthday is approaching and writes a tale for her: "Annie could not pour the tea because the teapot and the cups would not stop dancing." Groenink (Under a Pig Tree) gives the children simple forms and features, and the neighborhood's trees pleasing, Matisse-like shapes. Bram, in her first children's book since 1980's Woodruff and the Clocks, questions the conviction that things only have value if they cost money, holding Rufus up as an unconventional hero whose creations draw his friends into community. Ages 4 8.
