Review by Star88 -- Puffy and the Formidable Foe

[Star88]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Puffy and the Formidable Foe" by Marie Lepkowski and Ann Marie Hannon.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Puffy and the Formidable Foe by Marie Lepkowski, Ann M. Hannon, and Margaret B. Hannon is a cute little children’s book designed to help parents teach their children important lessons. The story revolves around the adventures of a cat named Puffy. Puffy is a cat on a mission to find a rat, and along the way, Puffy encounters other plants and animals. Not all of these encounters are pleasant though. In particular, Puffy comes across a skunk and has to deal with the consequences.

Although the story does address other minor lessons, the biggest lesson is about venturing out too far from home. The story seeks to inform children of potential things that could happen. While some encounters away from home are very pleasant, new, and exciting, there are still some unpleasant things to be wary of.
This lesson is delivered in a subtle and friendly way for young children. It does this in part by the rhyme scheme. The whole book employs a rhyme scheme that can appeal to even adults. The rhyme scheme was the part I enjoyed the most. I looked forward to every line to see what word would be used to rhyme with the previous line. Every word that is used to rhyme is underlined to further emphasize words to a child.

One thing I was surprised by was how well the illustrations accented the story. Each illustration is made to look as if a child had drawn it. I did not think that childish scribbles would ever be well suited for a book, but I was wrong. Each illustration would definitely appeal to a child without seeming underdeveloped to an adult. Many of the illustrations left me with a serene and innocent impression, and had me reminiscing back to my childhood.

To further engage a family, the book contains suggestions on activities made to involve both a parent and a child. The book also contains a page for coloring. The book is well designed to cater to a child’s playful preferences while subtly teaching important lessons.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It has clearly achieved was it was written for in way that can bring families together for fun activities. It is a way to introduce serious topics in a child-friendly way. There was no part that I did not enjoy. Reading this book left me with a pleasant feeling and a smile on my face. I would definitely recommend this book to parents with young children.


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Puffy and the Formidable Foe
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Like Star88's review? Post a comment saying so!

[ColeOlivia10]

I think this book sounds very good it is for young children and very helpful for some young kids I personally do not have a kid but yes I would but this for my child

[Star88]

Definitely! The book was made to help parents teach their children while having some fun.

[NL Hartje]

This lesson is delivered in a subtle and friendly way for young children.

You're right. The lesson isn't thrown in readers' faces. It allows for children to figure it out on their own.

For me, this book scored highly for rhyming and offering the parental discussion syllabus. I was disappointed, however, with Puffy's portrayal. He was illustrated differently on most pages. Some pages he had eyelashes; some pages he did not. Some pages he had a pink nose, whereas on others it was grey or white.

Did any of you notice this? I only rated the book 3/4. Do you think the differing Puffys warranted negative impact on the score?

My review here:
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=54531

[Star88]

Thank you for your comment. I found the rhyming delightful too!

I did notice that Puffy was drawn inconsistently. However, I chose to interpret the art style as echoing a young child's drawing. If a young child were to draw a cat a few times, I doubt that the drawings would be consistent every time. Thus, the illustrations were made to appeal to a child because that is how a child their age would draw.

That is why I did not deduct a star for this book.