3 out of 4 stars
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Learning to get along with someone you don’t share similarities with can be tough. In Fantasy Animals, a children’s book written and illustrated Janis Kirstein, we follow two very different characters who must learn to work together and learn to appreciate their differences. I rated this book 3 out of 4 stars. The story is sweet and fun for kids, but there were some spacing irregularities, odd formatting errors, and strangely-worded sentences that led me to believe the book was not professionally edited.
Fantasy Animals introduces us to Vortex, an anteater, and Scoop, a lion. These two don’t have much in common, aside from the fact that they were born joined together at the torso. Scoop must endure Vortex’s loud ant eating and Vortex has to put up with Scoop’s need for speed as they race through the jungle. The conjoined animals do not always get along and often become quite annoyed with each other. They often complain loudly, argue with each other, and disagree on pretty much everything. When the duo learns it’s possible to be separated surgically, they jump at the chance to be free. However, once they begin to work together and appreciate the positive attributes of the other, they aren’t so sure being separated is the best choice.
This story is sweet and has a great lesson about getting along. The author and illustrator, Janis Kirstein, is an educator and likely drew from her own “getting along” experiences for this book. The importance of appreciating another’s talents and skills is highlighted, as well as the importance of friendship and compromise. The illustrations are bright a fun and make the story feel like an old-fashioned folktale. I liked the lesson this book taught and think the story was very creative and imaginative. A helpful links for educators section included at the end of the book is a nice resource for teachers wanting to expand on the book’s themes.
My second-grade daughter read this book along with me and she liked it very much. Her favorite parts were the illustrations and the funny arguing the characters did. She was also very happy with the ending and seemed to understand lesson of the story. Some words in the story were too difficult for her (anesthesia, proboscis, nauseated) so I think this book was likely intended for readers in grades 3-5.
I would recommend Fantasy Animals to anyone who appreciates fun and creative children’s stories. Kids will like this story and anyone with a sibling will identify with the characters. This would be a fun book to read aloud to younger kids and would definitely inspire some deeper conversations about appreciating differences and getting along.
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Fantasy Animals
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. Too bad, though, about the errors. Good job on the review.
