Four on the Shore Is Never a Bore!

Having recently read several James Marshall books in which the main characters are foxes, frogs and pigs, it was a bit jolting to read Four on the Shore, which actually features human characters. There's Lolly, a tough girl with a green skirt, purple shirt and red headband who reminds me of Lucy from Peanuts. There's Sam, who sports a red-and-white striped shirt rather like the one Bert wears in Mary Poppins and a green fishing hat with his name on it. They are friends with Spider, an easy-going lad in a yellow turtleneck as sunny as his disposition, and are annoyed because his boisterous little brother Willie, whose red shirt and cap perhaps signify his devilish streak, won't let them do their homework in peace.

Their solution? Meet later, at the lake, so they won't have to put up with Willie. Though Spider defends his brother, he agrees to their plan, which I can't say is a good one, because I don't know how they're supposed to do their homework in the dark, even by the light of a campfire. It's no great surprise when Willie tags along with Spider anyway. At this point Sam and Lolly figure their only hope of productivity lies in scaring Willie into going back home, though Spider warns that his brother does not spook easily.

Each of the characters has an opportunity to tell a scary story, and the tales build upon one another. Lolly, for instance, weaves a morbid tale about a wolf, and Sam starts his story by backtracking and changing her ending so that its protagonist, who looks suspiciously like Willie, can have further adventures. Sam's story is my favorite of the four because its climax is so unexpected. I laughed aloud when I read what befell the Willie clone here; the basic plot is pretty much what you would expect, but the details are wonderfully random.

Spider claims to know just what will scare his brother, but I think he's holding out on his friends because he really doesn't want to traumatize Willie. So his tale is not particularly spine-tingling, and three stories later, the annoying little brother is still around. So encouraged by Spider, he tells a story. And what do you know? It's the scariest one of all...

I really like Spider because of the way he stands up for his brother, even though he's being a bit of a pain. I find his friends' intolerance aggravating, so it's nice to have the joke be on them in the end. Four on the Shore is a Dial Easy-to-Read, which means lots of short sentences that build up to short stories.

The illustrations are marvelous, more detailed and evocative than I expected. In one, Willie swings through a brown-leaved tree like Tarzan while Spider and his friends converse below. In another, a cross Lolly and Sam wait for Spider by a serene river, on the other side of which are lush pines and a glorious sunset behind a mountain. I also love the design of the witch's tower-like hut, and the climactic picture in that story is hilarious.

Four on the Shore is a nice break from Marshall's frequent anthropomorphism. In his hands, people are every bit as funny as foxes and hippos!