Showing results by author "Arthur Scott Bailey" in All Categories

Many of his animal friends consider Grandfather Mole to be strange. It is not that he is strange but rather quite different from most of them. Grandfather Mole spends most of his time in his favorite place, underground. He loves digging and nature has equipped him with the body, legs, and feet to dig. Surprisingly, he can also swim quite well. Because Grandfather Mole spends so much time underground, he has very poor eyesight and hearing.

Chirpy Cricket loves to fiddle. He thinks everyone he meets should. However, as Chirpy meets other critters near Farmer Green's house, he learns that not everyone who fiddles sounds the same as he does. Along the way, he meets some strange crickets like the Mole Cricket who never comes above ground. Or the Cricket Frog who chirps like cricket but is really from the frog family. (Did you know there are over 900 species of crickets?) We also learn about some of the predators of crickets and how they hunt. But mostly, this story is about Chirpy.

"The Tale of Ferdinand Frog" is a somewhat short story about a typical frog who has an amazingly wide mouth and queer, bulging eyes. Ferdinand is somewhat unflappable and hard to anger. Like many of Bailey's characters, he believes that others need to able to do the things he does. Like all frogs, his tongue is attached at the front so he can catch insects and Ferdinand doesn't understand why other's tongues aren't attached like his.

Paddy Muskrat lives in the millpond near Farmer Green's house with his wife, Mrs. Paddy Muskrat. He tends to get into trouble by saying and doing things that others do not understand, which occasionally causes problems with Mrs. Paddy. For example, when Paddy says he has fish to fry, which means he is very busy, others in the millpond interpret his words to mean it is eating fish they believe belong to them. Patty believes the millpond belongs to him and is never happy when others come to swim in it, especially Johnny Green and his friends.

Spot is a farm dog. His master is Johnny Green, son of Farmer and Mrs. Green. As with many dogs, Spot manages to get into his share of scrapes. He has run-ins with some of the farm animals, most notably Miss Kitty Cat. Miss Kitty Cat and Spot have their battles, and Spot has the scars on his nose to prove it. Miss Kitty Cat would be happy if Spot were not on the farm at all. Henrietta Hen and Turkey Proudfoot are also not very fond of Spot. Spot wants to be included in most of the Green family's activities, and this leads to some interesting problems for them and Spot.

Solomon Owl lives in Pleasant Valley. As with most owls, he is a loner. He doesn't have many friends and instead, often sees others smaller than him as food rather than friends. We discover how Solomon deals with other animals in the Pleasant Valley woods such as Mr. Frog the Tailor, Cousin Screecher, Fatty Coon, Mr. Crow, noisy Jasper Jay, and Aunt Polly Woodchuck the herb doctor. The characters in Bailey's books can be grumpy and predatory and will bite when aroused. Traditional virtues - honesty, reliability, loyalty, perseverance - are encouraged and rewarded.

Jolly Robin is a happy go lucky bird. He does tend, however, to stick his nose into other animals' business and believes that perhaps, they should sing or act like him. For example, Jolly believes that the way he sings is the best way and other birds should sound like he does. Jolly tries to convince some they should change their tune. Since many things in the world are new to him, he also sometimes makes and spreads mistakes to his acquaintances with some unpredictable events.

Brownie Beaver lives in a village near Farmer Green's house. It is a different village than you and I would live in. All the houses are built in a pond. And all their doors are underwater. But that doesn't matter because they are all good swimmers. So begins The Tale of Brownie Beaver as we are introduced to beavers and other pond dwellers. Arthur Bailey, the author, gives each of water creatures a personality and like any good children's book, teaches us about their behaviors while promoting good moral values.

The first book in Arthur Scott Bailey's Sleepy Time Tales....

Reddy Woodpecker is new to Pleasant Valley. Flying over Pleasant Valley one day, he decided to land and decided that it would be a good place for him to live. Reddy was strange to his new neighbors and some were rude and did not make him feel welcome but Reddy took it all in stride. As with all of Arthur Scott Bailey's animal stories, there are lessons to be learned about real life. For example, when Reddy met Cuffy Bear and they went hunting for grubs together, we learn about greed. Children are also introduced to new and different kinds of birds and their nesting and eating habits.