Moses Jones And The Case Of The Missing Sneaker


Some mysteries should remain unsolved. 

THREE PROS
*NT McQueen is a gifted illustrator who might need to go for that PhD in Creative Writing before attempting his next children's book (he is not exclusively a children's author; as such, let me stress that it's entirely possible that his adult titles are far better written  
*The never-give-up message McQueen tries to convey is a tad heavy-handed, but is a good lesson for kids nonetheless
*City Hill Publishing seems to know how to use YouTube to help promote a book

THREE CONS 
*Not sure what's worse: having the missing shoe in the fridge or the fact that no explanation is given why it ended up there in the first place 
*Wait, I figured it out -- it's gotta be placing the shoe in the fridge because now I am going to worry about what color Crocs will be chilling in our fruit drawer every time I head to the kitchen 
*I'm still trying to understand why Moses' socks appear to be fine when they are sitting on the floor but then all of a sudden look like props from a Bumfights reenactment once he puts them on

ONE DAD'S OPINION
Once again, I have to don my villain suit and attack an author who is just trying to get some added PR for a new release.  I do not relish being the bad guy when it comes to reviewing small batch publications, but it would be a disservice to everyone if I tried to gloss over the negatives in order to avoid hurting feelings.  In the case of Moses Jones, no part of me enjoyed the plot, even though I can see how it was going for a zany angle to appeal to the youth of America.  [Oh and it's not just me.  For the first time that I can remember, my son actually balked at the attention to detail, questioning why the van became a car.] That said, I do believe that McQueen is almost as cool as his namesake when it comes to putting color to paper, so there is hope for a Buy somewhere in the future.  But not today
. 

Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy



2 comments:

Krista said...

I cannot agree with you on this one. I read this book with my 5 children and they loved it. I think you need to look at this book as a children's book, funny, cute, children love it. Not an adult book! And the fact that you point out that your son said the van becomes a car, WHAT? Your bashing is wrong and uncalled for.

mysteryguy said...

Uh, thanks for the comment, I guess. First of all, let me refer you to the "Who Is This Blog For" section to see how I look at the books I review. I don't just consider my son's reaction when forming these opinions. If I am going to read it, I better like it too. As far as my son pointing out an error made by the author, what do you want from me? If a three year old is going to point it out, it must mean it's a pretty glaring mistake. Sorry I did not give this book five lollipops or whatever you do, but c'mon, for you to suggest that it's something someone should spend money on is borderline reckless.