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(More customer reviews)I discovered `Drummer Hoff' in a Scholastic book offer at school when I was six, and begged my parents to buy it for me. Like many little boys, I was enamored by soldiers, and would pour over the book again and again, entranced by the colorful European dress uniforms worn by the motley bunch of soldiers who were assembling, loading, and preparing to fire a cannon. Each one was distinctive, and I was particularly fond of Sergeant Chowder (who brought the powder), a gruff looking peg-legged fellow in a grenadiers hat, and Captain Bammer (who brought the rammer), a swashbuckling, eye-patch wearing chap. All of the illustrations were stunningly lined wood-cuts, brightly colored. I would try to draw soldiers who looked like those in the book, and learned all the words by heart.
Jump forward thirty years. My first child was born, and though I hadn't looked at the book in over twenty-five years, I found myself chanting the words to my baby as I rocked him to sleep - I still remembered them perfectly! I retrieved `Drummer Hoff' from my parent's attic, and it has now become my two pre-school boy's favorite book. It is a cherished piece of my childhood that I am thrilled to be able to pass on to them.
Other reviews here have mentioned the subtle anti-war message contained in this book, and I must agree. When the cannon fires, it is a two page spread KAHBAHBLOOOM, all done in hellish red with some dark purple and blue behind it. When you turn the next page, all of the sharply dressed, parade ground soldiers are gone, and the abandoned cannon that was their focus has become a dilapidated ruin in an overgrown meadow full of birds and butterflies. Though as a child I could not clearly articulate the thoughts, I remember pondering what happened to the soldiers; why they had left the cannon there, and if they had perhaps been hurt when it was fired.. It was my first influence to suggest that war might be something other than romance and adventure. My young boys have already questioned me about these very things, which they too noticed. It is a fine, age appropriate way to begin to instill the values of peace in the hearts of little boys.
Among all of the many wonderful books written for small children, this was, is, and ever shall be my very favorite. It receives my highest recommendation.
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