All PR is good PR. That's what they say at least.
THREE PROS
*Having kids learn that an 'imperfect' dog is worthy of love will hopefully lead them down a path where they do not mock the 'flaws' in other humans
*Parents can feel good about themselves for making their kids better people
*Gail Weissman didn't earn that MFA designation for nothing -- assuming her MFA is in Fine Arts and not Financial Advising
THREE CONS
*There are way too many instances where "What about Daisy?" is said, with the one on the last page being the most obvious offender
*I'd argue that putting Maddy in the wheelchair is a little over the top given the theme
*I was sent the PDF version of WAD? (granted few others will have to read it this way), but if the text in the bound edition is anywhere near as difficult to decipher it would be a real pain to read
ONE DAD'S OPINION
Maryam Faresh's team reached out to me to do this review. Given the rating that is forthcoming, I'm sure all parties involved would have been better off if this had never happened. But, in the spirit of keeping my blog as honest as possible, I felt avoiding a review would be more unethical than bashing a book about a special needs dog. Either way, I am probably going to hell for a day or two. OK, so now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me tell you why this book is up for adoption. Quite simply, it's a case of the real life story being better than the boiled down version available for sale (at a cost of $14.99, which seems slightly high for a privately published book)... Let's face it -- for some of you I could write a thousand more reasons why I don't like it and you'd still think: "what kind of jerk can give a bad review to a deaf and blind dog and its owners?" ME. For the rest of you, please invite Daisy the animal to your school, because you'll get a lot more value out of that interaction than you ever will out of this book.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
3 comments:
Sounds like What About Daisy is pushing the PC envelope a little too far!
I've just added you to my Blog roll over at Mildly Fabulous, thanks for stopping by.
For someone who reads children books all day one would think that their opinions and critiques would be somewhat thought provoking and intelligent when reviewing - not in this case. To be so harsh on a book that teaches compassion for all walks of life is insensitive and flat out socially ignorant. The message is not about a blind/deaf dog being adopted - it has layers of learning involving social acceptance and self acceptance. Maybe you should stop reading so many childrens books and learn more about the culture you live in and what could be done to make this world a better place. WAD takes leaps in that direction - it might benefit you to do the same.
Gee, I wonder what "anonymous" author submitted this last comment. Probably the same one that ignored my first pro, which says pretty much what you mention as layers here. I'm sure you won't agree with the last sentence, so let me put it like this...not every review can be positive. You are entitled to your opinion of me and my blog -- just like I am entitled to not love your book. That is all.
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