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Good kids book. Good gift. Nice author.

ChrismaKwanzaaHannukahYule gift season is coming right up. Yes, stores are taking down their gauze cobwebs and pointy witches’ hats and soon endless repetitions of “The Little Drummer Boy” with thrum throughout the land.

Let me get ahead of the game by telling you briefly about one really cute book for the kids on your list.

The fact that the author is a very nice person who recently got (you’ll pardon my expression) scr*wed out of her socks is a factor in my recommendation — but a small one. The book is fun on its own merits. The fact that it was written by Sue Hensler Schmidt, who lost her job when JPFO peddled itself to SAF, just makes it personal.

Book_CageFight

To the book: It’s called Cage Fight. No, it has nothing to do with boxing or wrestling. It’s about what happens when Gigi the rescue kitten tries to take over the cage of Jake the rescue rabbit. Jake and his feline friend Toby conspire to foil Gigi’s appropriation of Jake’s private property. It’s very short, but very sweet and clever. (And yes, you might even be able to work in a little freedomista lesson about property rights.)

Gigi, Jake, and Toby are all real critters, members of the “Rag Tag Family” (which I know from talking with Sue also includes rescued horses and heaven knows what other creatures great and small). Photos of the the three pets charmingly illustrate the story.

You can read my review on Amazon, but I suggest you buy directly from Sue. She’ll autograph your copies.

Cage Fight is $8.50 per copy plus shipping (shipping for one book is $3.10; $3.60 for two; $4.12 for three)

Mail your check or money order to: Sue Schmidt, PO Box 243, Slinger, WI 53086.

Include your shipping address and a phone number or email addy in case Sue needs to clarify anything.

If you want your book(s) signed to your name or the name(s) of the children it’s intended for, include that information, too.

—–

As you may know if you had occasion to call JPFO in the last couple of years, Sue was always friendly and helpful. At the end, she was also the person who got stuck handling most of the requests for cancelling membership. A lot got heaped on her that was not of her doing, and though she couldn’t and didn’t take sides in the selloff, I know where her heart was. In the end, for all her diligent work, her “reward” was to be laid off when SAF moved JPFO to Washington state.

So I’ll say again: the book is charming on its own merits. Perfect for a child just learning to read independently or for one who still loves to have Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Uncle do the reading and share the pictures. But if you have such children on your holiday list, getting them a copy of Cage Fight will also bring Sue some good cheer.

NFI on my part, unless you buy through the Amazon link. But buying directly from Sue is the way to go.

6 Comments

  1. MamaLiberty
    MamaLiberty October 30, 2014 11:22 am

    I don’t have any grandchildren that young, but I’ll get a copy to donate to the library here. I know the children’s librarian, and she will just love it.

  2. Claire
    Claire October 30, 2014 1:01 pm

    Oh, ML — What a great thought and what a nice gesture!

  3. Pat
    Pat October 30, 2014 2:10 pm

    The book sounds the right age for my granddaughter and I’ll buy it direct from the author — but I can’t find it on Amazon at all.

  4. Pat
    Pat October 30, 2014 2:12 pm

    By that I mean: I read your review, but when I went looking for it elsewhere, I couldn’t find it listed in Books.

  5. Claire
    Claire October 30, 2014 2:30 pm

    Hm. Well, last time I looked (which was just earlier today), it was there. Unfortunately you had to input both “Cage Fight” and “Sue Hensler” if you ran a search or you’d end up finding nothing but books on fighting. Yes, it’s pretty invisible on Amazon.

    However as you saw, that review link takes you there. And if you use both search terms, title and author, it’ll pop up for you.

  6. Pat
    Pat October 30, 2014 2:52 pm

    OK, I found it — under both title and author, and under just author, but not under title alone.

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