Showing posts with label Nina de Polonia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nina de Polonia. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

UPDATE: Lexi Fairheart and the Forbidden Door, by Lisl Fair (illustrated by Nina de Polonia)


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I originally reviewed this book on July 12, 2012 (and on June 8, 2012, on my other blog, Cozy Little Book Journal), when the publisher sent me an email asking me if I would read a digital copy and give her some feedback. (You can read the original review here.) I thought the book needed a little work but definitely had potential. It had grammar mistakes, an unresolved ending and didn't distinguish between insects and spiders (which, sorry to give away the ending, is a plot point in the story). But the book has been reworked and re-edited and it looks better than ever. The illustrations are still the star, with rich and satisfying artwork on every page. The ending is much better than before, and my two-year-old certainly enjoyed the finished product (which I believe is still only available in digital format at this time). It's still a bit wordy for a picture book, and could maybe be condensed a bit. My daughter is younger than the target audience for the book (listed at 6-8 years), but she still enjoyed it. Her favourite part was "the cookies," the page in which it says that Lexi's curiosity has paid off in the past and shows her discovering a cookie jar. I think a lot of young children really enjoy solving "mysteries" within a text by looking at clues in the illustrations (which is part of the reason why picture books for young children usually don't have too many words, since the pictures tell the story as much as the text).

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Lexi Fairheart and the Forbidden Door, by Lisl Fair (illustrated by Nina de Polonia)


The following review originally appeared on my other blog, Cozy Little Book Journal, on June 8, 2012. Since that time the author has let me know that she will be re-editing the book before publishing it in wide release. So the following review may be out of date:


This book is beautifully illustrated and the story has potential, but it needs work. First, to state the obvious, the vast majority of children's picture books are 32 pages long (It's true. Go look at your kids' book shelves if you don't believe me. I'll wait.) so the author would probably want to adjust it a bit from the awkward 17 pages of the e-book edition is she plans to have it published by a major publishing house. Beyond that, though, it could use some editing. There are grammar mistakes, which aggravates me in children's books ("one of these creatures were on the loose"? Really?), and the ending is unsatisfying and flat. Why was the door so forbidden? What's the resolution to the story? Just because the book is for preschoolers doesn't mean
these things should be ignored. But with some editing, this book could become the first in a series.


Hit the jump for Magda's take!