The Island of the Skog (Picture Puffin Books)

Love this book. Excellent illustrations and storyline. Great reveals too. I used this story for teaching types of conflict (Character vs Society and Society vs Society). This book should be in elementary school teachers’ classroom libraries.

The story is great! It is not your typical story and that is why I have enjoyed reading it. There is no real theme of the book besides, be nice and you might make friends more quickly. So yes, it is light on moral lessons, but it is just a nice book to read every once in a while at bedtime.

One of my favorite things about Steven Kellogg's illustrations is how detailed they are - you can read it many times and still see something new, since the details are tiny and missed unless you look closely. For example, one of them is looking at a map of the world when they are in the ship, and if you look closely you will see that it is upside down, with the words "Bottom" and "Top" barely discernable in the picture, as well as an upside down compass. A few pages later as they mice are in the ship and a tiny note tacked on the wall says "Menu today: salt water soup, seaweed salad." The mice fire cannonballs onto the island from their ship - five pages later (after you've forgotten it) you see in the distance a palm tree knocked over with a cannonball next to it. These casual and non-referential details make the book new (and funny) over and over again. I spent hours and hours looking at his illustrations when I was little. I love all his books.

I was at a loss to choose an appropriate book for my nephew. I solved my dilemma by looking on my bookshelf and selecting a favorite of mine. The illustrations are original and highly detailed and the story is timeless. The content focuses on themes that children can learn from and adults can appreciate. The mice cope with oppression, fear of the unknown, teamwork and the ramifications of choosing an aggressive form of conflict resolution instead of a peaceful one. With all of this great content, it's still a fun adventure story for the kids.

I loved this story as a child and my copy has fallen apart. Am SO glad I found it to share with my own children!

I grew up with this book and had to have my own copy.

This story needs to be in every child's library! The message of "we need to talk to one another" is more relevant than ever. Steven Kellogg is a genius both of story line and of illustrations. No one can resist the lovable, adventuresome mice of this wonderful story.Long live the Rowdies!

This book is an all-time favorite of my now grown children, who now read it to their children. Even my older grandchildren never get tired of it. Every time they visit, this is one of the books they want to read. I would love it if Sylvia Plath's Bed Book were republished. It would definitely be another favorite.

Wonderful story for children, a must have !