December 14, 2009

Fairies, Reluctant Dragons, Rogue Tooth Fairies and Stitches

I've noticed that there are 4 books in my sidebar that haven't yet been reviewed. We can't have that now, can we? So here are my very small reviews:

The Reluctant Dragon - What a cute story about a pacifist dragon who is more interested in poetry and acting than in frightening the people in a local village. I've read it more than once and I always enjoy it. It's short and great for kids.

The Coming of the Fairies - Sir Conan Arthur Doyle wrote this non-fiction book in 1920 in defense of the sensational photos of the Cottingley fairies. It pretty much ruined Doyle's credibility with the public. It was dry and repetitive and definitely written from a slanted POV. To learn more about the Cottingley story, which is very interesting in its self, go here, or watch the movie Fairy Tale: A True Story. My family loved the movie even though it is not very accurate. It's on par with The Little Princess and The Secret Garden.

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy - It was difficult as a read-aloud because there are duel stories going on so the switching back and forth was awkward but the story was fun and made my kiddos LOL often. The vocabulary is broad and will stretch the minds of many young kids. We enjoyed it.

Stitches - I read Stitches because of several recommendations from book bloggers. I didn't find it fascinating. His family was riddled with mental illness and he suffered as a result but there was no real reason why I needed to know about it, unlike Maus or Persepolis which have something important to say. There was one drawing that was amazing. It's of the author's mother when he walks in on her in a compromising situation. It conveyed the emotions of deep sadness and fear that she must have felt. Otherwise I wasn't impressed.

2 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Sorry you didn't enjoy Stitches. I enjoy memoirs like that for some odd reason, so I did enjoy it.

Zibilee said...

I hadn't heard much about any of these books, so thanks for the short reviews. I guess I will probably stay away from Stitches!