The Adventures of Rocky, Sammy, & Chip

The Adventures of Rocky, Sammy, & ChipAs soon as my oldest daughter became old enough to listen to chapter books, it became clear that oldchapter books and newchapter books were written quite differently. Older onessuch as Winnie the Pooh, Paddington the Bear, and Frog & Toad had delightfully incompetent characters whose personality flaws more or less drove the entire plot. Newer books, on the other hand, were more moralizing, and always had nice, pat endings. The older ones had humor for

As soon as my oldest daughter became old enough to listen to chapter books, it became clear that oldÊchapter books and newÊchapter books were written quite differently. Older onesÊÐÊsuch as Winnie the Pooh, Paddington the Bear, and Frog & Toad Ð had delightfully incompetent characters whose personality flaws more or less drove the entire plot. Newer books, on the other hand, were more moralizing, and always had nice, pat endings. The older ones had humor for the grown-up readers. The newer ones? Not so much.

In my mind, the older books were better.

This is my attempt to create a new kids book in an older style. The characters IÕve taken from my father-in-lawÕs improvised stories, which heÕs now told for two generations. However, IÕve tried to modify them to be so ineffectual that merely dropping them into any normal scene and pressing playÊis enough to let the story write itself. When given the choice, IÕve always opted for chaos, confusion, and petty status-jockeying. Is that enough to create a decent kids book?

Your kids Ð and you Ð will have to decide. Enjoy!