Even though I was a child in the 50s, before the 'Freddy' books went out of vogue (and print), I hadn't read them. So I was surprised when the parents of a student I worked with said they were an important part of their childhood. Their son loved them, too, so I was curious. Investigating, I was intrigued to learn that a short story by Brooks was the basis for 'Mr.Ed.' A horse is a horse of course, unless of course it's a talking horse. The 'Freddy' series is filled with talking animals who, like Mr. Ed, do not live in an imaginary children's world where animals are expected to talk. That means many children and adults do not know quite what to make of them. The animals may talk to humans, and may not. It's a rather clever literary conceit. I discovered that after a half century, Overlook Press has reissued many of these books, but only in hardcover and at a steep price (for children's books). My curiosity was not strong enough to overcome my parsimony (although I could have used the library). Then I saw 'Freddy Rides Again' in a pile of remainders at my local book store. I could deal with four bucks, and thus have been pleasantly introduced to the classic, wonderful and comic Freddy the Pig, composer of verse, banker, cowboy and detective. I'll keep searching the remainder bins, or maybe buy some more used.
