Mini book reviews: books I read at the thrift store because I didn't feel like buying them

A couple of Sundays ago I went to two different thrift stores and went ham at the book section. I bought dozens of books (I did not stop to count them). There were a couple of books at the first thrift store that I read there because I wasn't sure I wanted to buy them.

The Missing Piece and the Big O by Shel Silverstein
I think most people are familiar with Shel Siverstein's books (The Giving Tree, etc.). I had already heard of and read The Missing Piece, which is about a Pacman-shaped object who has a missing piece and is looking for a pie slice-like object to take in its mouth so they can become whole and roll around. It's been a while since I read this book, but I remember that after trying out dozens of differently sized pie slices and even some other Pacmen, our protagonist finally finds a pie slice that fits. This book seems to be an alternate version of the one I just told you about, because it starts in a similar way but ends differently. In this book, a pie slice waits for the perfect Pacman to make them whole, but is often overlooked and meets only pieces or Pacmen that aren't right. Then they meets a fully round shape (the Big O) who tells them that if they start going on their own, they'll become whole. So the slice starts flopping forward, and eventually wears down their corners until they're a round shape and can roll around the way they've always wanted to. I like this book's message rather more than the first, since the first Missing Piece book tells you to wait and be patient, because your soulmate will come one day. This one tells you to stop waiting for someone else to make you whole, get going with your life, and you'll become whole by yourself. I just checked and TMPatBO was indeed written after TMP. Brain Pickings has a lovely write-up about TMPatBO.

Stuart Little by E.B. White
I read most if not all of the E.B. White books in elementary school, and loved them. White is best known among the K-12 set as the author of Charlotte's Web, and to college students and writers as the author of Strunk and White, a guide to grammar, punctuation, and writing. When we were kids, my sister had a set of the most-loved E.B. White children's books, including Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and Trumpet of the Swan. Wikipedia says that Stuart Little was actually his first book for children. I remember loving that book, as I do any book about tiny things or people or anthropomorphic mice. Rereading it as an adult, however, I found Stuart to be rather smug and full of himself. His adventures are delightful, as are his little clothes and gear. But he's vain and his pride is not even tempered by his loneliness, as shown by his ruined date by the only girl in the world the same size as him. I also found it weird that he fell in love with a bird, and that animals can apparently speak to humans and write in this book. The world-building didn't seem to be consistent. Also, the book has no real ending! Stuart just takes the road once more to find the bird. That's it. It's like White ran out of ideas. Anyway, a fun read worth sharing with any children in your life.