I am a reader. I feel that I am passing this love onto my children. They see me reading books, they read books with me, they want to read me books; it’s all fun and truly quality time. When we find a great book we all get excited and can read it over and over again together. One Day I Went Rambling, by Kelly Bennett & Illustrated by Terri Murphy is definitely one of those read over and over again books that we have been enjoying together!When Zane goes rambling, his friends call him crazy and refuse to play along. When he finds a shining star, it doesn’t bother him when his friends try to tell him it’s just a hubcap. Undaunted, Zane uses his finds to create a secret project that piques his friends’ curiosity. After watching him ramble around the neighborhood, finding magic in the ordinary, his friends are eventually drawn into his imaginative game. Through the book’s art, attentive readers will see that Zane is using his finds to create a pirate ship, and once his friends realize what he’s up to, even the most skeptical realists join the fun and sail the afternoon away. Zane’s imagination sees the cowpoke’s lasso in a piece of vine, the pirate’s golden ring in an old pop top, and many other treasures that have been stolen from today’s children by electronic entertainment. Rambling enforces the joy of imaginative play.
Ava loves the book One Day I Went Rambling! As soon as she saw the colorful artwork on the cover she was hooked and wanted to know what it was all about! She loves reading and so a new book is like Christmas morning to her. She sat intently listening to this story, asking questions along the way. When we reached the end, she immediately asked for me to read it to her again. Zane is a truly loveable character with a huge imagination and strong spirit, much like my Ava. He marches to the beat of his own drum and gets all of his friends marching and having fun right along with him on his imaginative journeys; finding interesting odds and ends, then creating stories about them. Not only is this book a great read, but can also be turned into a fun game you can play with your children. We have played the Rambling game several times outside and even inside on rainy days! This story is wonderful and the illustrations are outstanding. One Day I Went Rambling is definitely a must have for your children’s library!Kelly Bennett is the award-winning author of many books for children including Not Norman: A Goldfish story, and most recently: Your Daddy Was Just Like You and Your Mommy Was Just Like You. She holds a Master’s Degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
