CALVIN GETS THE LAST WORD - Margo Sorenson and Mike Deas


 

Calvin loves words.  Really loves words. So much so, that Calvin, a young elementary school student, carries an encyclopedia around with him wherever he goes. Calvin wants the right word for things. He can find that right word in his dictionary ... for most things.  But he can't quite figure out the right word for his rascally brother who makes him snort milk out his nose and maybe picks on him at times.  But at home at night. with the two of them laughing over a prank Calvin manages to pull on his brother, the right word comes to him.

The book definitely has a cute theme and ends on the appropriately touching note, but for the most part, I really didn't find this very enjoyable.

The familial relationship between the brothers is definitely honest and true.  I really like how this captures a child's life with siblings.

But the book is also teaching the reader/listener new words.  These words are bold and in color, so we know these are the words to learn with the book.  And these words are: Revenge, Mayhem, Bewilderment, Subterfuge, Courageous, Pulverize, Retaliation, Slumber, Prank, and Hilarity.  Really?  Six of the ten words are aggressive - typically toward another person.  Are these really the words to be teaching young readers?  They'll grow to know them, but I don't think I agree that these are the lessons to teach in a picture book.

And honestly, I was a little disheartened at the two-page spread (this is only a 30 page book) of the school bus.  Using the chaos on the bus ("everyone is pushing and hollering and shouting, running up and down the aisle, throwing backpacks") for the word "mayhem" might be appropriate for the word, and while it's been a few years since my kids were school bus age, I know that in our area at least there has been a concentrated effort to not have mayhem on a bus for safety reasons.  Running up and down the aisles on a moving bus?  Is that still allowed?  Could we not have had mayhem on a playground?

What rescues this book, somewhat, for me are the pictures.  Mike Deas' art is perfect for this type of picture book.  It is realistic but whimsical and actually manages to tone down the aggressiveness of the story.  I love the cutaway view of the house at night.  I could easily see my kids - pre-reading age - thumbing through this just for the art.

But if I was in a bookstore, looking for a new picture book to buy for my family, or for friends with children, being a lover of words, I would probably pick this up, give it a read, then put it back on the shelf and look for something else.

Looking for a good book? Calvin Gets the Last Word by Margo Sorenson, with art by Mike Deas, is a picture book that maybe unintentionally gives some inappropriate consideration to aggressive behaviors.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Calvin Gets the Last Word

author: Margo Sorenson

artist: Mike Deas

publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

ISBN: 0884488225

hardcover, 32 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more