Komodo! by Peter Sis
Written: Dec 24 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Artwork is very appealing
Cons: Boring story
The Bottom Line: Not worth the time. Beautiful artwork can't make up for the missing story.
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| hlbirk's Full Review: Peter Sis - Komodo! |
The kids are out of school for Christmas Break so I decided it was time to do some cleaning of bedrooms. Lo and behold, guess what I found! A SCHOOL LIBRARY BOOK! My 5 year old had this large, hardcover book on his shelf, buried, and had never even mentioned it to me. Weird thing is; I remember this book coming home several weeks ago but don't recall him ever asking for me to read it.
Since we're enjoying our fabulous 2 weeks together, all day every day, (I can't wait for school to start back up!) we decided to sit down and read it together. I must say, neither of the boys or I were impressed with this book.
The book we have of Komodo! is a large, hardcover as I mentioned before, written by Peter Sis. Prior to this I'd never heard of him so it was a treat to read from a new author. The front jacket cover is done in peach and green tones with a picture of a boy watching a dragon walk across a tree spread between two mountains (see cover pic that Epinions used). The story begins with a two-page spread of a class of a children at school having their picture taken. The only writing on the page says: It is always easy to find me in school pictures because of my dragon T-shirt.
This is one part of the book that my kids and I did like. It encouraged the reader to really look at the pictures and study them. It truly took us a few minutes to find the right kid!
There aren't many words on any of the pages, but the pen and ink and watercolor painting really make up for lack of words. Who said a picture is worth a 1000 words? The pictures are very detailed, yet not too busy. Most words are fairly easy enough for a young reader to get through...other than the word Indonesia maybe.
The parents of the boy decide that since he has such a love for dragons that they'll take him to Indonesia in hopes of seeing a real dragon on the island of Komodo. He imagines what it will be like only to find out that it's not at all what he thought. Their trip was with a group and he was too small to see anything. He tells his parents that he'll be right back and he walks away from the group. First of all, I have an issue with this. I don't want my kids thinking that just because they don't like what's going on with a group, or they can't see, that they can just walk off. This seemed very unrealistic to me, but then again, it's just a story not to be taken too seriously.
After the boy walks away he ends up coming face to face with a Komodo Dragon. No one else was there to witness the encounter. The story ends with him and his parents looking off the back of the ship...his parents thinking the trip was a disappointment but the boy thinking it was the best place he'd ever been.
Overall I'd have to say this book is just "ok". There's no educational value whatsoever. It's a very quick read, unless you take the time to look at the pictures. If you have a serious dragon fan, then I would suggest getting this book. If not, don't waste your time. There is a small factual bit on the very last page of the book about Komodo Dragons, but that in and of itself doesn't make up for what the actual story is missing.
ISBN 0-688-11583-7 (trade)
ISBN 0-688-11584-5 (lib. bdg.)
Author: Peter Sis
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
1350 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
www.williammorrow.com
Peter Sis had drawings that appeared in The New York Times Book Review and he is the author-artist of An Ocean World, Follow the Dream, Beach Ball, Going Up!, and Waving. He has illustrated several others also.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
hlbirk
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Member: Heather Smith
Location: Olathe, Kansas
Reviews written: 126
Trusted by: 55 members
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