Freddy the Pig and a few of his barnyard friends go on trip to the North Pole, but Ferdinand the crow brings back word to the Bean Farm that the group was taken in by a stranded group of sailors, who may have ill intent towards the animals. So a rescue party is formed with those animals who hadn't originally gone to the North Pole, and they set off. Eventually, with assorted small adventures along the way, the rescue party arrives to find their animal friends, and the suspect sailors, all in the good hands of Santa Claus. They all hang out with Saint Nick in his palace for a while before eventually being taken back home to the Bean's in Santa's sleigh.
Preposterous, but fun story, with some genuinely hilarious moments. Great story to read to young children, or to enjoy as an adult if you're capable of suspending every shred of realistic logic from your brain. ( )

North Pole is one of my favorite Freddy books. Walter R. Brooks wrote 26 of them, and they are all amusing and original. His imagination really takes off when he describes life at the North Pole with Santa Claus and, as always, there is an ironic adult undertone when he talks about the sailors and their "appreciation" of Freddy's plumpness! North Pole also features Barnyard Tours, Inc., the first of many Freddy business ventures. Others of note include the First Animal Bank, the Bean Home News and, of course, Freddy's work as a detective. It's a fun, seasonal read. ( )

Originally "More to and again" as a sequel to To and Again -- this time the animals go to the North Pole, and the story is more frankly fantasy, as the North Pole is the home of Santa Claus, and they have a jolly time with him. --I still recall Freddy's song about the pole "O Pole, O Pole, a glorious Pole, to you I sing this song/ Where bedtime comes but once as year/ Since the nights are six months long..."He comes back with them and has a hilarious encounter with a traffic cop and a judge, but gets off by telling the judge what he brought him for Christmas long ago. (The scene is a little like the trial scene in The Voyages of Dr, Dolittle). ( )

This is the second Freddy book. I can see why this one wasn't in my public library when I was a child. Brooks didn't know what to do with his characters the second time out and the plot sags in the middle. That said, this is the book that explains why the animals can talk and it's referred to in some of the later books. So if I were still a kid, I'd want to read this book, even if it is clunky ( )