I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.
The Synopsis:
Squirrel is rushing along a tree limb when she trips, losing all her acorns into the rushing water of the river below. Angry and frustrated, she doesn’t know what to do. Her good friend, Rabbit, lends both a sympathetic ear as well as a solution. Rather than get angry, Rabbit tells her, rate the problem on a scale of one-to-ten. By identifying and realizing the true importance of the issue, the issue may not seem so overwhelming. Adorable forest creatures help the sad squirrel put everything into perspective so he does not to get stuck in a rut over something that may not be a big deal after all.
Review:
Rating our problems will often help us to evaluate how truly important that problem is, and usually upon that evaluation, we may realize that our problem wasn’t as big as we originally thought; this is the premise of our story.
Though I like the thought and originality of One to Ten: Squirrel’s Bad Day, I have to be brutally honest in the fact that I believe the author could have done better. I am a huge fan of Carole’s work, having loved each and every one of her previous books, but in reading this one I had to double check to see if she was really the author.
The way it’s written is cheesy, with all of the characters, except the squirrel, being able to talk in a sophisticated language that most kids won’t even understand(the squirrel just makes noises) and the story is jumping around so much that it’s hard to figure out who is talking (the “word bubbles” aren’t positioned correctly over the character’s head, which makes it difficult to read the book aloud if you’re like me and like to assign each character a different voice).
As I said, I love the idea of encouraging kids to rate their problems to help them look on the bright side of things, but I think that Carole could have really done a better job with this one, and I say that because of the level of esteem I hold for her as an author and for her other children’s books. I give One To Ten: Squirrel’s Bad Day 2 out of 5 stars.
Rated:
