Review: 'I did it with style!'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 12, 2013
Idan Hadari has mastered the role of writer/illustrator/teacher and entertainer. His books are not only very fine bedtime stories, the kind children love to hear and to learn to read, but they also are written in a charming rhyme pattern that makes them all the more memorable for a child's retention. Geared to the age 3 - 8 bracket, the themes here of developing self-confidence and self esteem, encouraging self-motivation, patience (always a tough item to teach kids!), and the rewards of interacting with those around them - family, friends, fellowman and pets.Andrew is a peppy kid who wants to be famous NOW! His parents hear his desire but assure him that he is only ten and that there is much time ahead before worrying about all the possible adverse effects of being famous. But Andrew is impatient, and in the privacy of his own room he bemoans the fact that he seemingly has no talent that would bring him fame. A shooting star flies past his nighttime window and his older brother has told him to make a secret wish on a shooting star and the wish will come true. He wishes to pay a guitar or to catch a thief all for the purpose of gaining fame, but is still frustrated. He takes a walk with his dog to the park and there he sees a small crowd around a tree where two kittens were stranded, and knowing where the rope ladder to the tree house is, he rescues the kittens to the joy of the little girl owner and the gathered crowd, feels happy, and the next morning his picture is in the newspaper as the hero! `I have talent and luck, and though it is tough, I can do anything if I want it enough!' And so Andrew is famous - at least for a day.The warmth of the poetry is matched by the fine illustrations and once again Idan Hadari has written a solid gold children's book.  Grady Harp, August 13