4 out of 4 stars
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Puffy and the Formidable Foe is a children’s book by Marie G. Lepkowski, Ann M. Hannon, and Margaret B. Hannon.
The story is relatively simple and cute and has adorable characters. Puffy is a curious cat that gets into trouble with some humorous results. The story is something kids and adults can both enjoy reading and learning from together. It has a good message that parents can use to teach their children about safety without frightening or giving them worries they shouldn’t have to think about before bedtime.
The authors really put some thought into ways to make this book more interactive. Unlike most books for children, this one provides parents and teachers with a list of ideas to stimulate learning and creativity. I liked this feature and the list of suggestions they put together. I think these ideas would be especially helpful to parents that don’t have a lot of time to think of ways to make reading more fun for their kids. The authors also include an illustration of Puffy that children can color as a reward and offer the option to request additional coloring pages and word lists from the book for free.
Puffy and the other animal characters are illustrated by Ann M. Hannon and Margaret B. Hannon. The drawings are something kids in particular could relate to and even copy successfully if they enjoy drawing or tracing. If I had kids we would probably use this book as inspiration to write and draw our own Puffy adventures. The drawings are cute and expressive and adequately illustrate the story.
I think the most notable and different aspect of this book is the vocabulary the authors use. This isn’t Dick and Jane with simple words and grammar. The authors make it a point to tell the story with very advanced words like “formidable” and “foe” as evidenced in the title. I’m not sure how most kids would react to this choice by the authors, but I would have loved learning words like this when I was little. I think gifted children would be the most appreciative of the vocabulary in this book, but the authors don’t specify the age or type of child they’re aiming for. As such, anyone who wants to give their kids a boost in language learning could potentially use this book as a tool to aid comprehension and encourage retention.
This is a good book for parents that want their kids to learn new vocabulary and experience a cautionary tale with a funny outcome. The rhyming words are interesting and novel for a book aimed at young children, but the interactive aspects make this a book parents and kids can enjoy returning to and learning from again and again. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for its creativity, interesting vocabulary, and interactivity.
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Puffy and the Formidable Foe
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