Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I ordered this book based on looking at the preview and seeing the impressive illustrations. I always read children’s books to determine if the content is appropriate, before reading them with my grandchildren or giving them the books to read on their own. This book is recommended for 4-8 year children. Negatives: - In this book, my 4-year old grandchild would learn the word “fart” and how maybe to spell it. Some 4 year olds may already know the word, but neither I nor my daughter find this to be appropriate content for the children. The book also presents the word in a somewhat disparaging way relating to the father of the child in the book. - There is a page of dense prose that most 4 and 5 year old children may not want to read or be able to read on their own. This is just as well because it is really a diatribe that portrays the child’s father in a very negative way. We also here about dog poop in this paragraph. - The child talks with his dead grandmother. This seems very inappropriate, for many reasons, to put in a book for 4 to 8 year old children. If there have been any deaths in the family including grandparents, this may be traumatic for young children; it may be in conflict with belief systems within the family, and it may awaken some fears of the supernatural in some children. The whole story is about a young child with no friends who is forced to play by himself, not even appreciated by his dog, who lives in a home with a strict, authoritarian, and overbearing father. The child creates a make-believe world with the help of some magic candy, or a real magic world, depending on how the reader interprets the story. The book attempts to redeem the relationship with the child’s father and the dog, but the redemption offered is weak. The illustrations are visually striking and well done, they remind me of old claymation television shows from the 1960s, like the Gumby shows, except done in high resolution and with beautiful surrounding graphics. Really, this is more of an adult-themed book, in the guise of a children’s book. It is somewhat cautionary to adults about the perceptions of children in a very authoritarian environment. I can’t recommend this book for children, and I won’t be reading this with my grandchildren or passing this book along.