BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- NOT RECOMMENDED
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Henry is set on sledding, and he's determined to make all of his friends go with him. When said friends balk because they are terrified of the mythical Snow-Grr, Henry dismisses them, saying that Snow-Grrs do not exist. As they continue up the mountain, evidence mounts saying that his friends are right. Still, he pressures them to come sledding with him. When what his friends thought was a Snow-Grr turns out to be something else, Henry feels completely vindicated.
This book is essentially peer pressure at its worst. Henry's friends are following their instincts, which say there is danger ahead, yet Henry continues to pressure them to repeatedly ignore these feelings and go into dangerous territory. While it turns out that there was nothing to be afraid of -- this time -- I'm not sure it's a great lesson to teach kids to dismiss their intuition in favor of giving in to their peers. In addition, this book has the feel of a television episode turned into a printed story. It lacks depth and heart, and tries to make up for those missing emotions by adding too many exclamation marks. Library money is precious; spend it on a different book instead.
Reviewer: Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist
No comments:
Post a Comment