Week 6:

This Moose Belongs to Me VS No, David

This Moose Belongs to Me:

Age range: Probably around 3-7 yrs old.

Summary:

Wilfred is a boy with rules. He lives a very orderly life. It's fortunate, then, that he has a pet who abides by rules, such as not making noise while Wilfred educates him on his record collection. There is, however, one rule that Wilfred's pet has difficulty following: Going whichever way Wilfred wants to go. Perhaps this is because Wilfred's pet doesn't quite realize that he belongs to anyone. A moose can be obstinate in such ways. Fortunately, the two manage to work out a compromise. Let's just say it involves apples.

Review:

So this is now the second book from this author I’ve had in this competition. And I have a feeling there may even be another one before the tournament is through. I liked this book. My only issue with it is the background illustrations. Don’t get me wrong, I like the illustrations of the characters, but the background illustrations change from one style to another. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but I for one DO NOT like it. Some of the styles really complement the characters, while other styles couldn't complement anything! That’s harsh, I know, but there are some weird styles going on in there. It just felt odd. Other than that I really liked the book. The story was good and interesting, and the moral of the story was good too. I know I didn’t enjoy the background, but the characters were illustrated perfectly. That moose makes me smile just thinking about him.

No, David:

Age range: Probably around 4-7 yrs old.

Summary:

When David Shannon was five years old, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were these words: NO, DAVID! . . . and a picture of David doing things he was not supposed to do. Now David is all grown up. But some things never change. . . .

Review:

The illustrations for this book are superb. With a capitol S. The story is this: The boy gets in trouble for doing stuff he shouldn’t do… over… and over… and over again. Then the kid and his mom make-up after he got put in timeout. The end. Now, with a story as basic as that, you’d think it wouldn’t be very entertaining. You’d think wrong. Dead wrong. For adults, this book is great! For the kiddos, not so much.  I cringe at little kids looking and studying each and every page where this kid maniacally and joyously breaks every rule in the book, and the only words we get to read are rebukes to the child. The ending has its tender moment, but it’s kinda too late for that in our now corrupted child’s mind. It really does make me sad thinking that I won’t be reading this to my boy, because I can picture him loving every destructive second. Oh well. Some things are better left unshared.

The Winner:

Congratulations to This Moose Belongs to Me! 

We will see you in November!

We’ll see everyone else next week!