Review: Attractive illustrations, dense vocabulary, overly didactic
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
The microscopic text on my 15" monitor (reading the text should only be done on an actual Kindle) shows some surprisingly sophisticated vocabulary."Traffic was dense and horns honked in a frenzied clamor.""He threw his voice into a Tyrolean yodel.""Harry and Gayle gave Margot a brilliant orange Delta kite. "Singularity!" said Margot."I have trouble imagining what sort of child this book is for. If they are young enough to enjoy a story about the virtues of patience when waiting for a birthday, some of the vocabulary would go over their head. If they can handle these difficult words, they would probably be demanding stories with more meat. In either case, you would be faced with bored children.Bored parents are another potential problem. The suggested questions and activities at the end of the story reek of heavy-handed attempts at social engineering. "Model a healthy attitude toward giving, being careful to separate decisions about gifts from evaluations of behavior." Whew! If I do that correctly, will the Child Welfare Officer (CWO) assigned to my case give me a passing grade on my next childcare evaluation?The color illustrations are this book's one saving grace. If I had spent $9.99 to buy this book, I would be rather upset. Since it was free, the defects are not serious problems. I'll just let children tell their own story based on the beautiful illustrations, or use them for some activity, such as picture dictation (one person describes, the other draws). But, Shhh! Don't tell the CWO how I am misusing the book!