Thorndike and Nelson. This item is unavailable.Thorndike and Nelson

When Thorndike calls Nelson's dog Dot a smelly mut, Nelson retaliates by pouring a pot of boiling swamp water on Thorndike, and a big fight begins, until Dot scares them both witless, and the two quarreling monsters realize what is most important--friendship.

PreSchool-Grade 3. Two monster friends become temporary enemies when Nelson's dog, Dot, fetches Thorndike's slipper and chews it up. Angrily, the pals begin to destroy one another's things: a bat wing collection is dumped out the window, pet spiders are released, chocolate-covered lizards are chucked down the sink, and the air is let out of the sharkmobile's tires. When Dot swallows the slipper and chokes, Nelson can't revive her but Thorndike dramatically saves the animal with the Heimlich maneuver: "Pfoooooooot! Out popped the big pink slipper." Their apologies, the remediation of all destruction, and the admission that fighting "gives me indigestion" and "makes my stomach hurt" resolve the disagreement. Younger children may be alarmed by the hot-headed destruction and Nelson's sobbing "Don't die, Dot," but others will appreciate the humor, fast action, and the reassuring message that friends can fight and make up. Delightfully lurid colors, silly monsters rendered in spiky lines, appropriately gross and weird settings, and a humorous twist at the end put this in good company with the popular monster books by Pat Hutchins.?Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
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