Publisher Description
Warnings had been printed in the Bean Home News and the Centerboro Guardian, but nobody paid much attention to them. An animal revolt? "Preposterous!" said the Beans and all the other humans. But it's true-and the outrages begin: cars are stopped and overturned all over the county, farmers starting out to do their morning chores are driven back into the house, and the cows refuse to come in at milking time. In Centerboro, cats are insolent to their mistresses and horses go out of their way to insult people on the street. Simon the rat is determined to turn the farm into a dictatorship and Mr. Camphor has been persuaded (much against his better judgment) to run for governor of New York State. Herb Garble shows up, Jinx defects to the enemy (or does he?), and Freddy-that inimitable pig!-goes to work as the political boss of Otesaraga County. Freddy and Simon the Dictator is classic Brooks, in which the master of barnyard hilarity has a lot of fun satirizing politics and-especially-politicians.
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About Walter R. Brooks
Walter Rollin Brooks (1886–1958) was an American writer best remembered for his short stories and children’s books, particularly those about Freddy the Pig and other anthropomorphic animal inhabitants of the “Bean farm” in upstate New York. Brooks was born in Rome, New York, attended college at the University of Rochester, and worked in advertising and at magazines before focusing full-time on his books. In 1937 he published a series of short stories featuring a talking horse and his drunken owner which was the basis for a 1960s television comedy series Mister Ed.
About John McDonough
John McDonough, one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices, has narrated dozens of audiobooks, and won eleven Earphones Awards. He is known for his narrations of children’s books, including Robert McCloskey’s Centerburg Tales and Albert Marrin’s Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Outside of his audiobook work, he has starred in a revival of Captain Kangaroo on the Fox Network.