It is Christmas Eve eve! Wow, not much longer to wait!

Red Ranger Came Calling

By Berkeley Breathed

As you may have guessed, I have to re-read each of these books before I write. This book starts with a big “awwww”. The dedication reads as follows:

“To my father, the Red Ranger, of course. He’s finally up there somewhere, just off Pluto maybe. “

The introduction explains that his father told this story to his children on Christmas Eve while they were growing up. The story centers on the Christmas when his father was 9 years old. It was from that Christmas on that his father was called “Red”.

“People guessed wrongly that the name honored the thatch of orange debris atop his head that made it look like a freckled ostrich egg on fire. The name’s true source was a popular cinema hero of the time: Buck Tweed, The Red Ranger of Mars, Protector of the 23 Century and Savior of Grateful Princesses.”

And then the story begins. It is a tale of Christmas adventure and compassion.  It involves a visit to the Saunder Clos house (which may or may not be the home of Santa Claus), a dog suffering from a poorly delivered flying spell, and most importantly, an Official Buck Tweed Two-Speed Crime-Stopper Star-Hopper bicycle.

It is a very sweet story. I am (should I admit this?) not a fan of the illustrations. They are quite detailed and go beautifully with the story. Okay, they just aren’t pretty. There, I said it. You might very well dis-agree with me.  

Berkeley “Berke” Breathed is also the author and illustrator of the Bloom County cartoon Series and many other children’s books. 

Thanks for reading!