12.28.07
Posted in Beginning Readers, Childrens, Fiction at 3:39 am by Rosepixie
This is a fairly cute beginning reader, but it definitely subscribes to the ‘Dick and Jane’ school of storytelling. At least Little Monster is a hell of a lot more interesting than a couple of white middle-class kids, even if he isn’t doing anything particularly radical. Monsters are just naturally more interesting. The illustrations are really cute. They were definitely the best part of the book. I loved how the monsters looked. This is a cute book and much better than I expected.
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12.01.07
Posted in Beginning Readers, Childrens, Fiction at 4:07 am by Rosepixie
This is a really cute book. I love how Mudge is both concerned about Henry and enjoying the salt of his tears (so typical of a dog!). I also thought the dog-walking was perfect! The imaginary kings and dragons story was awesome and the illustrations (especially the dog-dragons) were perfect! This is an awesome book!
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10.26.07
Posted in Beginning Readers at 6:57 am by Rosepixie
This is a really good story. I like the dynamic of the single-parent household, it’s very realistic. The story is also surprisingly complex and interesting. I love the fight at the beginning and the longing for a pet running through the whole book. Both mother and daughter have a ton of personality! I really was impressed with this book and enjoyed it a lot!
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Posted in Beginning Readers, Paleontology at 5:27 am by Rosepixie
This is a great basic beginning reader about dinosaurs. It explains how to pronounce the names of each dinosaur (very important for readers just beginning to sound things out) and gives basic information about them. It’s all very simple, but great for kids who want to read about Dinosaurs when most books on the topic are going to be way too difficult for them to read on their own. I was quite pleased with the whole thing!
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10.20.07
Posted in Beginning Readers, Fiction at 1:16 am by Rosepixie
This is such a sweet story. I liked the description of the cat looking like smashed prunes! I also liked the flip of the cat being Mudge’s mother, but also named Dave. That was a great gender reversal. I liked that the cat defied expectations - it was neat and ‘mom-like’, but owned by a man in a masculine job! It was really awesome.
Oh! And Henry - a boy - cried without comment. It just was. Every kid cries, boy or girl, but we don’t often see fictional boys do it!
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09.15.07
Posted in Beginning Readers at 4:26 am by Rosepixie
This is a fun Biscuit story. It’s got great pictures of cute ducklings and the curious little puppy. The story is simple but has actual plot and everything so that it doesn’t just wander. This actually is a pretty good beginning reader. I enjoyed the story, but I didn’t think it was amazing either. It’s good at what it does, though.
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08.24.07
Posted in Beginning Readers, Fiction at 7:40 am by Rosepixie
This is a fun book of opposites. It’s unlikely to appeal to anyone who hasn’t seen the movie Cars, but for young fans it’s a fun, simple beginning reader using characters and scenes they know. It’s very Seussian in some ways, which is good for a beginning reader. I liked this one, simple as it is, and I think that it does a good job of what it’s trying to do.
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Posted in Beginning Readers, Fiction at 6:27 am by Rosepixie
This was a quiet, sweet book. I would have liked to see a little more happen (especially in the little dog’s dreams), but it worked for what it was. Who really reads beginning readers before bed, though? Does this have much of an audience? It seems odd.
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Posted in Beginning Readers, Fiction at 5:23 am by Rosepixie
I wasn’t wild about this book. It started out like it was going to be a mystery, which would have been cool, but it never went anywhere. We never did learn who spilled the milk and no real effort was made to find out. It was just dumb. Obviously, I didn’t like this one.
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Posted in Beginning Readers, Fiction at 4:03 am by Rosepixie
This was another book that just sort of felt… unsatisfying. Not much happened and what did went completely unremarked upon. Any emotion came from the illustrations and seemed kind of dismissed. I think that the idea behind this book was pretty good, but the excecution was seriously lacking. I was disappointed.
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