Book 19 of My 2014 Goal

Fibles 2 : More 10-Minute Children's Bedtime Stories for Modern-Day Kids! by M.R. Everette
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fibles 2: More 10-Minute Children's Bedtime for Modern-Day Kids by M.R. Everette has an eye-catching cover with the little characters on it which led me to believe it would have some illustrations inside but it really doesn't have the typical scenes I am use to in children's books. At the beginning of each story is a small illustration of the main characters maybe an inch tall with no background or scene of any kind. The best way to explain it is if you cut out the two characters on the cover and pasted them on a page, that is the extent of it and this simple illustration really didn't hold the young children's attention.

I should also tell you that the subject content isn't really for young children either since it does contain things that they wouldn't understand in many of the stories. It wasn't just one line in the book but quite a bit of it. For example, although some young children would understand what a text is, the sentence of how some of the characters were commenting on Mugbook drew me blank stares and I found myself explaining quite a bit just for this one line. I had to explain what texting is (I do not have texting so I had to explain what that is), then what commenting on websites such as Facebook was. By the time I was done with all this, the story was lost. Instead of any kind of thoughts or discussions on the story or what was learned, it was more of a classroom lesson for the children and a task of skills on how well I can explain things for myself.

I also found the ending of each story is a twist on an Idiom/Proverb that younger children may not be familiar, e.g., A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. This is the fun of the book that they just don't get. To me it is like telling someone a joke without telling them the punch line so for these reasons I do not recommend this book for young children.

Now for what the book is. It is a stand alone book that is a funny read for older children. There are a dozen short stories in it and each one has its own set of characters and the best word I can think of is the one the author used in his description, quirks. The titles of each story is fun as well as the way each story ended. There are lessons to be learned in each of the stories and these delightful characters have their own way of learning/teaching them.

I didn't time each story but I would say that the authors time of 10-minute is accurate enough. I also wanted to add that I didn't notice any format/typos within the story. Each story encourages the reader to use imagination and reasoning just by the way it is written and every story is a positive tale although a bit complex depending on the age of the reader/audience.

To sum it up, I think this is going to be one of those books either you like or hate. I happen to like it but again I stress this is not really a bedtime story for young children.


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