For my next trick, I am going to rate this book.
THREE PROS
*While I try to adhere to my principle of reviewing different authors and illustrators as much as possible, I can't seem to avoid the eye-popping artwork of Dan Santat when I walk past it
*Michael Buckley came up with some classic kid situations and flipped them on their heads with this creative concept
*Really neat how they made each act look like it was being filmed by a video camera, adding that extra bit of realism we have all grown accustomed to in the YouTube age
*Really neat how they made each act look like it was being filmed by a video camera, adding that extra bit of realism we have all grown accustomed to in the YouTube age
THREE CONS
*I don't know why publishers seem to pair up Santat with stories that are so memorable yet ultimately a chore to read out loud (see here for another example) -- despite the best of intentions, Kel Gilligan is choppy
*The cheers from the crowd make sense contextually, but kill any momentum from developing from page to page
*The cheers from the crowd make sense contextually, but kill any momentum from developing from page to page
*The crayons on the wall at the end unnecessarily knock our hero down a peg in the closing scene
ONE DAD'S OPINION
I watch a LOT of sports. With rare exception, I can get into anything and find the entertainment value in it. While baseball and college basketball are my two favorites, I have no problem watching a 4th round match from the Australian Open or a random French soccer game where I don't know any of the participants. But every time the X Games comes on, I curse. It's just so stupid to me. I don't begrudge those athletes for finding a niche and excelling at it; it just doesn't need to be televised in primetime. ESPN force-feeds us events that about .0005% of the population care about, and then dedicates even more time to recapping them on Sportscenter. It all feels like a huge money grab -- even to someone who fully recognizes the hypocrisy of stadium deals and organizations like the NCAA. KGDSS isn't nearly the plague that the X Games is, but both of these extreme properties share a common flaw. Namely, they fail to connect with me on a real level because they are so busy trying to be wild and crazy. Thus, I can't give Buckley and Santat anything higher than a Donate.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
ONE DAD'S OPINION
I watch a LOT of sports. With rare exception, I can get into anything and find the entertainment value in it. While baseball and college basketball are my two favorites, I have no problem watching a 4th round match from the Australian Open or a random French soccer game where I don't know any of the participants. But every time the X Games comes on, I curse. It's just so stupid to me. I don't begrudge those athletes for finding a niche and excelling at it; it just doesn't need to be televised in primetime. ESPN force-feeds us events that about .0005% of the population care about, and then dedicates even more time to recapping them on Sportscenter. It all feels like a huge money grab -- even to someone who fully recognizes the hypocrisy of stadium deals and organizations like the NCAA. KGDSS isn't nearly the plague that the X Games is, but both of these extreme properties share a common flaw. Namely, they fail to connect with me on a real level because they are so busy trying to be wild and crazy. Thus, I can't give Buckley and Santat anything higher than a Donate.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
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