Children's Book Review: Adventures in the Big Thicket ~ Ken Gire

Set in the bayous of Texas, and not complete without being read in a drawling Texan accent, these animal tales based off the book of Proverbs will have children enraptured. Each story is told in allegorical form pertaining to a verse out of Proverbs.

Children will get a kick at how ham crazed and anxious the bobcat Hamhock is to devour Mr. McGillicutty's prize hams, be they alive or dead...even if it means a few bullet holes in his breeches.  They will read of the greedy frog Buford T. Suggs and his 'almost' inheritance that caused him to make very unwise decisions. And adding to the fools of the bayou is High Pockets the jackrabbit who learns a thing or two the hard way about pride. And the mail carrying Jabberlips thinks twice about talking after seeing where all talk and no work gets him in the winter. After reading the fourteen short tales of the Texan bayou, kids will be begging to re-read it!

"Y'all don't need a plan," said High pockets. "All y'all need is guts. And from the looks of it, ya ain't got enough to corner a cockroach." "And I suppose you do?" challenged Fussbudget the badger. "Why back where I come from, badger, they call me ' King of the Gators.' "  "Back where I come from they call your kind 'full of marsh mush." Replied Fussbudget. 

Violence: Mostly presented as comical. Hamhock is shot at multiple times. Animals threatened to be eaten by a gator.
Language: Other than incorrect grammar and slang words, none. :)
Age Interest: 5-13 (But again, even I still enjoy listening in.)