Sure to become a children’s classic, the tale is all about Bruno, known to the other creatures of the forest as The Wise Old Boar,
because they always seek his counsel whenever they have
problems. But in fact, Bruno is actually very stupid. His advice is so silly that when it doesn’t work, the animals blame themselves for failure.
One day a dangerous storm approaches. The animals panic and flee to a cave. Bruno also tries to climb into the cave, but gets stuck. Quite by accident, Bruno saves everyone when he blocks the cave entrance, keeping out the flood waters. Instead of praising Bruno for his wisdom, he is now appreciated for his heroism.
In Carmen's bar in our village there is a large stuffed boar's head hanging on the wall. Someone has placed a hat and large pair of spectacles on it. This gave me the idea for the cemtral character, Bruno the Wise Old Boar. In September 2006 a terrible storm hit our valley in the mountains. Although brief it caused a lot of flooding and damage. The old villagers could not remember anything like it but there was a repeat of the storm the following September. This gave me the idea for the story.
Neither of these storybooks are simple picture books. Each of the above stories are 68 pages long. Although there are pictures on each page, the large majority of the page is covered in writing. I would say that these books are best enjoyed by ages 6 to 12. (Amazon says 9 to 12 but I doubt you'd need to be THAT old.) Being that the stories are about construction trucks and animals, they are sure to capture the imagination of children quite easily. My son is interested in the pictures but at 2 1/2 he's not quite patient enough to sit through the whole story. I would give him another year or so and try again because they really are quite clever and charming. Also, Margaret Merry's illustrations are simply breathtaking. She is a true artist and I really love looking at her work. Again, take a look at her website to get a feel for what you can expect from these two storybooks.
These are wonderful stories that have a classic feel to them. I suspect you will enjoy them if you can get your hands on a copy! Read and enjoy!