Finally! An award winner I can get behind with all of my weight (which, according to my wife, is rather substantial)...
THREE PROS
*As a dad who preaches the gospel of making up crap to get your kid to do what you want, I have no problem conferring the title of Patron Saint of Mealtime on Josh Schneider
*Each of the first four chapters takes a different humorous path to getting James to eat, but I especially liked how the last chapter had his dad play it straight while James tried to unsuccessfully out-think him
*One of the better inside covers that I can remember -- it's literally an affirmation of why you would want to buy the book
*One of the better inside covers that I can remember -- it's literally an affirmation of why you would want to buy the book
THREE CONS
*There are plenty of times that milk is, in fact, "repulsive", so if I was writing I would have found a way to point out the difference between spoiled milk and all other milk
*Having a troll in the basement could have scared James; it seemed a risky move for his father to take
*Having a troll in the basement could have scared James; it seemed a risky move for his father to take
*The sock, gum and dirt angles were awesome gross-outs, but maybe the double mention of the rat circus was a tad much (I really can't think of a third problem)
ONE DAD'S OPINION
After all of my negative reviews about Caldecott recipients a few months ago, I intentionally sought out the most recent Geisel Award seal-holder in the hopes that it might be better. Problem was, I had to put in a hold request to get it -- a request that took all this time to get fulfilled. Well, my friends, it was well worth the wait! TFVPE is well-executed and full of jokes that will appeal to all ages. Moreover, it has a decent shot of changing undesirable behavior that every child exhibits at one point or another. How often can you say that about something on your bookshelf? While I'm not sure how the humor will play after years of reading the same material, it can't be worse than any other kiddie book we own. In other words, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't give this my highest rating.
BUY / Borrow / Donate / Destroy
ONE DAD'S OPINION
After all of my negative reviews about Caldecott recipients a few months ago, I intentionally sought out the most recent Geisel Award seal-holder in the hopes that it might be better. Problem was, I had to put in a hold request to get it -- a request that took all this time to get fulfilled. Well, my friends, it was well worth the wait! TFVPE is well-executed and full of jokes that will appeal to all ages. Moreover, it has a decent shot of changing undesirable behavior that every child exhibits at one point or another. How often can you say that about something on your bookshelf? While I'm not sure how the humor will play after years of reading the same material, it can't be worse than any other kiddie book we own. In other words, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't give this my highest rating.
BUY / Borrow / Donate / Destroy
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