I first read this book the other day not to my child or class but to my girlfriend. Yet, the first person narrative and Calahan King's wonderful illustrations do carry the reader along with ease, even if the ultimate revealation and resolution do lack some of the needed surprising element.Īll in all, I think that I didn't find this book as charming as others I've read recently mostly because of my almost-nephew opinion of it, which was a mere "you can read it to me but fast, OK?" instead of his regular delight at me taking a turn as bedtime reader. The thing is, it takes little to figure out that the Enemy Pie is not what we first suspect but mostly a clever way to help a young boy take a chance on a new friend. In this case, the catalyst for that getting-to-know-you moment is Dad's Enemy Pie's recipe. And as most of those stories go, this one also gets resolved once the protagonist gives the new comer a chance to become a friend. And this book sits comfortably among them. that we don't know we fear and despise, are a whole sub-genre. The story starts when Jeremy Ross moves to the neighborhood and ruins the perfect summer of our young protagonist.Īll on their own, stories dealing with children declaring new arrivals their enemies, a.k.a. While very entertaining, this picture book didn't hold our (that's mine and my four-year-old almost-nephew) attention as other books do, perhaps because early enough in the story we saw Dad's plan coming, hence spoiling the surprise.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |