Book 5 of 2015

Fibles : Children's eBook by M.R. Everette
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really have mixed feelings about Fibles: Children's eBook by M.R. Everette. The cover is as cute as it can be with the characters in their "12 Grade A Eggs" carton which are a character from each of the 12 stories in the book. Even the small illustrations throughout the book are colorful and geared for children but the stories themselves is what I have the problem with. Although they are animal characters with fun names, the way it is written with the play on words and the subject of things a child wouldn't know (or at least most young children wouldn't know) or understand it makes it hard for me to agree this is a children's book.

I read bedtime stories to my soon-to-be 3 year old grandson and he doesn't have a clue what the play on words are. For example we don't have Ipads so he don't 'get it' that in the story it is an 'Ipaw'. In another story the calves nod in 'udder' agreement but he hasn't a clue what an udder is. Another story is about golf and no way is he going to get the play on the words of "putter" or "par for the course" which leads me to believe it is for older children so I tried it on my granddaughter who is a 6 year old. Again, even at the age 6, a lot of the 'fun' of he book was lost because she didn't understand the concept of Tweeting/Twitter, what Rastafarian is, or who Picasso was. So now I go to my grandson who is 8 and reads to himself. I figured this was perfect since he did read to himself he wouldn't miss the play on words but at age 8, he took one look at the book and didn't want to read a 'baby book' with cute little baby animals on the cover. He was way above that and more into the Harry Potter type books. So although the stories did have; lessons and morals, a cute cover, character names, and pictures, I just don't see where this is a child's book (at least without a whole lot of explaining). I thought it would be a good bedtime story book for the young ones but the purpose for bedtime stories is for the child to go to sleep not ask me questions every few minutes on what that is or what that meant. The only conclusion I come to is that this book is like the cartoon 'Family Guy,' or 'The Simpsons', it looks like a cartoon and therefor appealing to children but it really isn't for children.

Now with all that being said, I did enjoy the stories and during the day I do read to the children so that is when I would read these stories so I have plenty of time to explain and for them to ask questions when they don't understand something. They are good stories to open communication and teach them things like what 'internet' or 'Sears and Roebuck' are. I spend more time talking and explaining the story then actually reading it which means (at least for me) these are not 'quick' stories so I recommend that you should be sure you leave extra time for the explaining/answering questions part too. This way, it is a nice time of reading and talk/learning that you both/all will enjoy.

View all my reviews

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.


View all my reviews

Book 40 of my 2012 Goal

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

M.R. Everette's, "Fibles: 10-Minute Children's Bedtime Stories for Modern-Day Kids" is the perfect name for this book. It has a dozen stories that are all short in length (you can read one in 10 minutes easy) but they are not short on entertainment. With cute names like Wisee the wise owl, McKoo the cuckoo bird, and Ty the firefly the characters are easy for the kids to remember and each story teaches a lesson and gives the perfect opportunity for you to discuss how doing things like doing your chores, don't play hooky, don't judge a person by their size is important.

My personal favorite is "The Guppible One" which is about Gillmore the guppy who skips swimming school to nibble at the free lunch that the fishermen dangle from their lines for excitement. Turns out poor Gillmore got more excitement than he could stand, in fact, says it was the worse day of his life. When he went to school the following day he finds out that he missed a fantastic field trip to the aquarium sea show where they all got a free lunch from all the people at the aquarium and turns out to have been the best day of their lives.

I (and my grandchildren, ages 4 and 6) really enjoyed the book. I especially liked the opportunity it gives me to teach them valuable lessons that will make them responsible, friendly and trustworthy among other things and have faith others will too.


View all my reviews