
Centerburg might be your town. Grampa Hercules and his never-ending tall tales, Dulcy Dooner, the uncooperative citizen, unbusinesslike Uncle Ulysses and his friendly lunchroom, the flustered sheriff, the pompous judge—they are all as American as they come. But there's a subtle and delightful difference. In Centerburg, along with the routine of day-to-day living, the most preposterous things keep happening.
But nothing fazes Homer Price! Ragweeds taller than fire ladders, music that sets a whole town dancing—he solves these problems calmly and efficiently. Homer Price is a boy with a good supply of common sense—and ingenuity!
Homer's Grampa Hercules is a delightful old rascal and his extravagent reminiscences of his youth are the starting point of many of the episodes. The chapter titles are as enticing as the chapters themselves: The Hide-a-Ride, Looking for Gold, Ever So Much More So, Experiment 13, Grampa Hercules and the Gravitty-Bitties, Pie and Punch and You-Know-Whats.
Mr. McCloskey's characters have warmth and kindness and a healthy curiosity; but they are not above a few minor faults and foibles. They are unmistakenably alive. Like Mr. McCloskey himself, they are perpetually amused by the everyday hazards and discrepancies around them.
Our AI is preparing recommendations for Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Price. This usually takes under a minute.
1914–2003
John Robert McCloskey (September 15, 1914 – June 30, 2003) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He wrote and also illustrated nine picture books, and won two Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association for the year's best-illustrated picture book. Four of the nine books were set in Maine: Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, Time of Wonder, and Burt Dow, Deep-water Man; the last three were all set on the coast. His best-known work is Make Way For Ducklings, set in Boston. In longer works, he both wrote and illustrated Homer Price and he illustrated Keith Robertson's Henry Reed series.
View author page