Freddy and Simon the Dictator

By: Walter Brooks

Narrated by: John McDonough

Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

A pig for all seasons: listen to more of Freddy the pig's adventures.

©1956 Dorothy R. Brooks (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Asher's review

This book is extraordinarily good. I'm very impressed with the performance.I recommend this book to all!😀📚

A great and exciting book

An excellent book by Walter Brooks and very witty and funny.I love this series very much.

The Red Scare

This is one of the stranger books in the Freddy the Pig series. It’s definitely about the fear of Communism and the Soviet Union. I don’t know if Walter R Brooks is trying to explain The Iron Curtain to children in a form they can understand, or if he’s writing out his own fears. But the whole thing does get a little unnerving at times.

If you want to understand the Zeitgeist of the early 1950’s, this is a good book to read. Just remember: The good old days weren’t all that good. There are things in here that are offensive. You can get angry, or you can be glad that people in the 1960’s and 1970’s fought to make the world a better place.

Racist?

When reading the reviews on this book I noticed that some people where not satisfied with the name “Indians” however, at the time there was no other name end it was not thought to be called racist that’s just what they were called. It makes me sad to think that people find this racist when it is just what they thought these people were called. I personally enjoyed this book. It has good morals values and is entertaining. I hope you find this review helpful. 

Very Racist

Despite being a rather obvious (and slightly offensive) holocaust allegory, this is by far the most racist of the Freddy the Pig books. A large portion of the book revolves around Mr. Camphor going to live with the local “Indians”. Upon seeing them for the first time, Freddy becomes concerned that they will “scalp him” while doing their “war dance”. Mr. Camphor proceeds to put on red face several times and say things like “you wantem furs?” And, of course, “ugh.” Even when the Native Americans are revealed to (surprise, surprise) speak perfect English, he continues to view them as stereotypes and even threatens a villain with “the Indians” burning him at the stake.
On top of the constant racism, the entire plot is a frankly offensive holocaust analogy and the only woman is a hysterical airhead. It’s like the author found out what stereotypes were and decided he was done making up characters. I’m quite a fan of the other Freddy the Pig books, and I’m really quite upset by this one. The only saving grace is, of course, the marvelous narration