All Rileyed Up

BOB Books have apparently been around for a while, but this is my first introduction to them. I have Set 1 for Beginning Readers, comprised of 12 short booklets. And boy howdy, do they mean short. I wish all books were like this, because as un-motherly as it sounds, sometimes I can’t stand reading aloud with the kids. I used to enjoy reading kid books, but when I’m reading something for the 950th time, it wears on my interests somewhat. Fortunately, no matter how bored I might get of reading BOB books, at least they’re short. Anyone can handle a minute, right?

My kids, ages 3 and 4, enjoy BOB books. They don’t read aloud much (yet), but they will point to the pictures. The sentences are nice and simple (“Mat sat. Sam sat.”) and at the beginning of every booklet, they tell you which sounds are being emphasized (no more than four per book), which is nice for the older children because you can make them point them out while reading. The books are also stick drawings with bits of color, so you could extend the reading activity to an art activity by encouraging your kids to draw them freehand or trace them, and color them. You could even re-enact these stories, as most of them involved easy things like “Dot and Mit sit on a mat” that could get funny when they sit on each other.

I like this one guy, Mac, who looks a little bit like a robot. “Dot and the Dog” involves the story of Dot, a little girl who looks like her hair is permanently in curlers, and her dog, as they try to figure out what is in a bag that Dot has. In the end, they discover “The bag had a hot dog.” I don’t know about you, some mystery bag containing a hot dog sounds pretty suspicious to me.

Then there is “Lad and the Fat Cat” — easily my favorite. First, it contains the sentence: “Lad sat on a keg,” followed up with “Lad had a nap” where he is sleeping against the keg (aka “barrel”). This book also talked about the “fat, fat cat” who at the end we find out was pregnant! Yes! Let’s call the pregnant animals fat! That will make all of us mommies feel great.

In “The Vet,” a veterinarian who goes to the zoo to help the hurt lion, which includes a page where “The cat ran zig zag. The vet ran zip zap.” The picture of the vet makes him look like he is a figure skater, and frankly, I don’t think it’s a good idea to move like that around a big cat (we all saw what happened to poor Roy, of “Siegfried and” fame ). But no worries from The Vet – he and the lion shake hands at the end (“O.K. Cat! O.K. Vet!”)

So, um, yeah. That’s my review of this book. Enthusiastic thumbs up for the little kids! And a few snickers for Mommy and Daddy too.

Important things for you to know:

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Read more about the book here.

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BTW, Kailani of An Island Life is holding a giveaway to Warm Biscuit Bedding Company. Stop by before September 28th for all the details. They have nice fabric (and I’m into sewing lately).

You can also check out Kailani’s sidebar for info on the Carnival of Family Life, to which this book review is being submitted. See Real Life after Sept 30 for more posts.

James Patterson’s Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is a book that lives up to its title, complete with gangs, explosions, and romance (hoo ha!).

Quick summary minus spoilers: Maximum Ride, better known as Max, is a smart-talking, fourteen year old girl who is the oldest of six children called bird kids. The bird kids are the result of experiments performed by genetic scientists heck-bent (PG-rated book, folks) on curing the world of war and greed and environmental destruction. How do these megalomaniacs plan to cure the world of said evils? Why, by killing everyone who contributes to the problems and creating a stronger, more powerful human species. It’s up to Max and her trusty flock to save the world from this “Re-Evolution.”

Now, some of you more faithful readers may know that I have issues with eagles. Although Patterson never specifies any particular species of bird the bird kids’ DNAs have been spliced with, I feel confident saying that Max would be a terrifying person to behold. She has WINGS, people, WINGS! (A point Max makes herself with such lines as “I blame you for altering my DNA! I mean, I have wings, lady! What were you thinking?”) Yet I read this entire book in one day because it was THAT CAPTIVATING AND ENJOYABLE. (I also thought this review was due a couple days ago and had put off reading it to the last minute, but do not let that deter you from the original point that this book is THAT CAPTIVATING AND ENJOYABLE).

My overall thought is this: if you are a boy or girl between the ages of 9-14, you will enjoy this book and likely get a decent vocabulary lesson out of it (and if you’re really good, you might catch the grammatical error in the first sentence of chapter 37). If you are the parent of said child, you may have just stumbled upon a book that will open your child’s eyes to the wonderful world of reading.

Why will boys like this? Danger. Excitement. Fight sequences. This book is quite comic book-esque, with its genetically altered heroes and snarky one-liners (Wolverine or Gambit, anyone?). See, the bird kids are considered an imperfect experiment, and those heck-bent scientists wish to “retire” them (a euphemism I’m sure you can interpret). This aspect gives every fight sequence the admirable quality of “fighting for one’s right to life.” Everyone deserves the right to live, no matter how different they are.

Why will girls like this? In short, Max. Max is one hundred percent female and one hundred percent bad mamma jamma. The leader of the flock, her catchphrase throughout the book is “There’s always a plan.” She is quick-thinking, assertive, confident, strong, and many more adjectives that lend themselves readily to the word “Heroine.” This girl takes care of herself, her friends, and the world (ie, she cares about her fellow people). If you really want to get a feel for Max, consider this line: “I know this will surprise you, but I don’t damsel well. Distress, I can do. Damseling? Not so much.” Come on, you know you prefer your daughter reading about tough witty girls like her instead of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield (not that I know anything at all about Sweet Valley High).

Why will both boys and girls enjoy this book? Power in the hands of youth. It’s a book that rallies the young to take a stance for the world they are to inherit – it reminds children that they CAN make a difference, that it is within their grasp to foster new understandings of how to take care of the world, and that it’s okay to express dissatisfaction with the way “the grown-ups” (yes, that’s the word the book uses) handle things.

As for setting (which I’m a big fan of), Maximum Ride takes us to a handful of locales, thereby ensuring a future movie with beautiful “filmed on location!” sets. I’ve never read a book by Patterson before, although my cousin raves about the Alex Cross books. There are a couple point of view shifts that I didn’t catch until after the first couple sentences (personal pet peeve), but other than that, the pacing is excellent, and easy to read. While Patterson does capture the voice of a fourteen year old accurately, Max makes references to pop culture that I daresay a fourteen year old of today wouldn’t make. Do you know any fourteen year olds who reference Yogi Bear? Do they even know who Yogi Bear is? It’s only one sentence here and there, and not a big deal, because us “grown ups” will get those jokes.

On that note, I think I’m going to go participate in a beach clean up or protest a pharmaceutical company, or, I don’t know, start a blog and save the world. Happy reading.

Important things for you to know:

Buy the book here.

Read more about the book here.

Want to review books like this? Go here.

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