Review: Cover Image Spoils the Story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 17, 2013
I think the cover image detracts from the story of a girl wondering about a mysterious monster eating her garden's carrots as you obviously know what the monster is. Possibly you could have already opened the Kindle book and avoid this but if you're letting the child or children pick from the screen what to read next the cover lessens the overall impact of the story.The illustrations in general are okay, they done in the same sort of paint kids use to paint pictures on A4 bits of paper you hang on your fridge so they may be able to relate a bit to them. However I wouldn't go so far as to claim the book is beautifully illustrated as the title does, as I think you'd find a lot of the kids reading this could do a better job.As some other reviewers have pointed out the story itself does use dialogue of an older person rather than using words that are how a child speaks. I assumed this was an old lady telling a flashback tale from her childhood so didn't mind the words. When you combine the fact that the child spends all day in the garden rather than playing on a computer, watching TV, talking to friends on the phone and everything else missing from a modern childhood, this sort of reinforces that this happened a long long time ago vibe.  There's also some storyline inconsistencies such as the oversized footprints when the monster was a normal sized creature of its kind.The tale itself is nothing special but it may stimulate discussion on either where fruit and vegetables come from or inspire a grow some of your own produce in your backyard as a project for your children to do if you think they're ready for it.