Review of "The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone" by Timothy Basil Ering

Timothy Basil Ering tells a fanciful tale of a boy who lives in a dank cavernous world called Cementland. While searching for treasure, the boy finds a strange-looking box with a note attached that says "Put my wonderous riches into the earth and enjoy!" The boy opens the box to find dozens of brightly colored packages, but when he opens one he finds its filled only with small gray specks. Well, despite his disappointment, he buries the specks in the ground and waits. When nothing happens, he goes home. On his return the next day, he finds that his specks are gone! "Thief!" he cried. So the boy goes to the junkheap and builds himself a monster to protect his treasures. He builds it from smelly socks and other nasties and calls it Frog Belly Rat Bone. The surprise comes when the boy discovers who is taking his treasure and why.

With the prose presented in child-like scrawl over the simply illustrations, this charming book for children in grades 1-3 is sure to be read and re-read many, many times.