McBroom's Ear is the third book in the McBroom series, about simple farmer Josh McBroom's family and their rich soil that can grow ANYTHING. The gimmick of the series is that McBroom professes to always tell the truth, and after an amazing story full of unbelievable exaggerations he'll confess to one small fib that implies everything else was undisputed fact. This was one of my favorite book series as a child.

In McBroom's Ear, McBroom's children (Willjillhesterchesterpeterpollytimtommarrylarryandlittleclarinda) find their plans to grow giant vegetables for the County Fair (which, considering their amazing soil, does seem a bit like cheating) threatened by massive swarms of grasshoppers on one of the hottest days of the year.

As with all of the other books in this series, the most charming aspect is the exaggerations and illogical descriptions employed by McBroom in his narration. In McBroom's masterful storytelling hands, the day isn't just hot, it's so hot that the wax beans began dripping like candles, and you have to boil water just to cool it off. The McBroom series is a celebration of the fun side of language and storytelling in which the events aren't as important as how they are described.

On a side note, the McBroom series would be reprinted in later decades with different illustrators, and while not commenting directly on their artistic merits, I think it's a shame that later generations were introduced to McBrooms tales with more cartoonish illustrations. Kurt Werth's artwork in the original McBroom publications introduced a level of realism to the comical tales being told, and lent an air of credibility to the stories that Josh McBroom himself would have appreciated. ( )