
The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Chubby Wubbles: A Ferret's Tale
Because Chubby Wubbles was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
Lorraine De Vos

I would have chosen to sample this book, because I like reviewing children’s books. After reading the sample, I thought the wording was simplistic enough for children to be able to read it on their own and I liked that there was illustrations as well as photos. I do think the quality of the photos can be improved - maybe a professional can take photos that are a little more endearing and shows the softer side of these cute critters. The book does appear to be professionally edited, as I did not notice any errors. The official OnlineBookClub review was well written and also noted that they liked the addition of the photos. I would definitely add this book to my reading list for my nephews and nieces.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 4:56 am by Lorraine De Vos.
briellejee

Based on the cover and title, I think I wouldn’t have sampled the book. I didn’t think it was appealing enough as a children’s book. The colors are not bright enough to catch a child’s attention, although the picture of the ferret could make a child ask about it. As for the first few pages, I was actually waiting for illustrations since it is a children’s book, was disappointed in not seeing a one, not at least in the sample. The narrative sounds good, though there were no rhymes. There’s a bit of confusion as the events happen so fast with Mark putting them on the playpen and the next page tells that Coco was already gone. It would have been nicer to read about how Coco and Chubby were friends before Coco went missing. There was also no introduction about Mark so there’s a bit of confusion. I’m not really into children books and my nephew wouldn’t have liked this either so I think I’m not going to buy it. If only there would be more bright colors and pictures to look at, I think this would have been a better one. I found an error in formatting in 88% of the sample: Mark’s name wasn’t capitalized. The official OBC review was good enough to tell me to sample it, saying it was unique; and I think it is.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 4:33 am by briellejee.
Vickie Noel

I like children's books so I would have sampled this book outside the program. Having done so now, I'm a bit undecided. For some reason, the story feels too plain, like it's written by a child. Yet I know that suchlike books shouldn't be filled with "heavy" words children may need to check up a dictionary to understand. Still, I would have preferred it to be a little more intricate, after all, it doesn't hurt if kids' vocabulary is built up in the process. For example, two sentences could have been merged into this: "As Mark patted him on the head before leaving, Chubby wondered if he was on his way to see Coco." Also, there was an error where the proper noun Mark wasn't capitalized in the sentence, "Before leaving, mark patted him on his head." Other errors were regarding format as there were unnecessary spaces between paragraphs. I also noticed that font size was fluctuating; the words in some paragraphs were bigger than others. I'd been interested in the book after seeing the OBC review, but the sample didn't engross me enough to want to purchase the book.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 3:33 am by Vickie Noel.
AA1495

Had I not sampled the book, I would not have read it. I usually read pure romance books. Further, this book is meant specially for children. I felt like the cover could have been more creative. Both the background and the title were blue in color. There could have been a better contrast. However, the book had a favorable OBC review, which gave me a good impression. Having read the sample, I liked how there were enough illustrations in the book. However, I noticed a change in font sizes in the middle of the book, which was distracting (beginning with the fourth paragraph in the chapter "missing coco"). Further, the spacing between the images and the text was not consistent. These formatting errors made it seem like the book could have been edited a little better. However, this seemed like a unique and interesting children's book. Since I do not read the genre, however, I will not be buying the book today.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 1:42 am by AA1495.
va2016

The cover and the title are indicative of the theme of the book. There are no Amazon customer reviews. The Amazon summary provides a good description of the plot. Since I am not interested in children books, I would have skipped sampling this book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing Coco the Ferret's disappearance. As I am not interested in pet stories, I am not going to read this book in full. I didn't find the book professionally edited, as I found a lot of unncessary spaces between lines in the sample. I could not find any grammatical or mechanical errors. I didn't like anything specifically about the book. As an improvement, I could suggest that formatting of the book be done properly. Although I found one OBC review on the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 1:28 am by va2016.
Annelore Trujillo

I would have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb, OBC review, cover and title. I like to find new children’s books to read with the student I tutor. After reading the sample, I won’t be finishing this book. I agree with the reviewer that the switching of perspectives is messy, and it would be difficult for children to follow. It started out like it was going to follow Mark as he put the ferrets to bed. Then it started to follow Chubby instead of Mark. I had to reread the sample to understand this switch, so I wouldn’t want to read it with a child. I did like the photographs of the ferrets. Unfortunately, I also noticed errors in the sample that told me the book was not professionally edited. For example, there was one instance where “Mark” was not capitalized even though it is a person’s name.
First Ten review added on October 27, 2019, at 12:27 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Catherine Hsu

If I had not read the sample, I would not have read the book as I do not read children's books. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. The concept is cute, but tere could be better design by integrating the text into the color and illustrations. I also found an error where a name was not capitalized: "Before leaving, mark patted him on the head." More professional editing is needed. I did not read an official review but that did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 11:10 pm by Catherine Hsu.
OliviaLouise

After reading the review, I felt that this book would be great for kids because of the photo-illustrations. After reading the sample, I didn’t think I would really recommend it to parents just because the writing is in plain text and formatted in large paragraphs rather than large print overlayed around the images. The formatting was not very kid-friendly. I’ll pass on this one. I did not find any editing errors!
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 9:50 pm by OliviaLouise.
Juliana_Isabella

I wouldn't have chosen this book because I don't generally read children's books, but I did enjoy reading the positive review. I didn't find any grammatical errors in the sample, but the spacing between paragraphs was large and irregular. I enjoyed the photos of the ferrets, but I don't have any children, so I won't be buying the book.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 6:34 pm by Juliana_Isabella.
CataclysmicKnight

I reviewed this book a few days ago, but if I hadn't the cover would've caught my attention and made me look into it further. I gave it a review score of 4 out of 4 stars and only found one error: on page 4, "He's easy to take care but needs attention" should be "...take care of but..." or "...to care for but...."
The book was super cute and teaches kids the danger of leaving a door open, as well as shows off how cute and fun ferrets can be as pets.
If I hadn't already read the book, I would want to read it to see what happens with Coco, so I marked this book as a "Yes."
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 2:53 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
gen_g

I have come across a positive review of this book, and it has piqued my interest. However, there are a couple of font size inconsistencies, which are rather distracting. There are also errors at 21% in the sample: "...to bed in their play in after another long day..." – the second "in" is wrongly inserted, and I do think "playpen" will be a better choice of word instead of "play. The author has also portrayed Chubby and Coco's strong relationship, as seen when Chubby is shown to be missing Coco when Coco suddenly disappears from their shared resting area on morning, and Chubby doesn't even have the energy to be active, choosing to rest quietly. I will not be purchasing the book today, as the errors are very distracting, coupled with the fact that I am not the target audience for this book.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 11:39 am by gen_g.
Fazzier

If I had not read the first ten pages of this book as part of this program, still I would have read it based on the title the OnlineBookClub.org's official review. Since I love pets, the idea of ferret as a pet got my interest right away. Reading the sample has further heightened my desire to read the whole book. Coco, one of the ferrets, has mysteriously disappeared and the other ferret, Chubby, is obviously disoriented as a result. I wan't to read to find out how the search for the missing pet will end. Anyway, I liked everything and can't find any improvement to recommend to the author. The book also seems to be professionally edited since I found no errors in the sample I read. What I liked the most were the colorful illustrations in the book as this will appeal to the intended audience, the children. I've already bought the book and I'll definitely recommend it to a child if I enjoy the rest of it.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 2:54 am by Fazzier.
Gravy

I looove ferrets, so I may have given this a look. Unfortunately, the writing seems to be aimed a little younger than would interest me, so I won't be reading it.
It's hard to say, in such a short sample, if this was professionally edited. I did notice this sentence: "Mark put his ferrets, Chubby and Coco, to bed in their play in after another long day of fun and play." I'm not sure exactly what the intention was, but it is obviously grammatically incorrect (not to mention a little awkward). Due to this being so early in the book, I have to question the editing.
As the sample is so short, there really wasn't anything that stood out to me that I liked (aside from ferrets).
I believe there was a review for this book, but that has no effect on my opinion.
I won't be reading this due to it being aimed so young.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 2:43 am by Gravy.
Cristina Chifane

Since I wasn't looking for a children's book, I wouldn't have read this book solely based on the title, cover, and Amazon blurb. However, I think kids would love the idea of a pet ferret looking for his missing playmate. Unfortunately, despite the brevity of the sample, I noticed some editing errors such as the missing capitalization of a proper name ("mark" - 81% of sample). I liked the originality of the story and the illustrations, but I agree with the OBC reviewer that the plotline could be further developed with Chubby eventually becoming the feature character in a book series. As it is, the book needs another round of proofreading and editing and more elaboration. I won't be adding it to my reading list for now.
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 2:31 am by Cristina Chifane.
Dolor

I love to see the photos peppered in the contents, the cover, the title, the blurb, and the official OBC review. These made me decide to read this book even without The First Ten program. I felt sorry for Chubby when he woke up to find Coco missing. I saw sentences with missing necessary commas and an uncapitalized proper noun in the sample pages. Here they are:
"The next morning Chubby woke to find Coco missing."
"The door was open so he began looking in all her favorite hiding spots."
"Before leaving, mark patted him on the head."
"He was sad because he wanted to see her too."
This will benefit from a round of editing. I am curious to know if Chubby could see Coco again, so I will read on. Chubby Wubbles by M. J. Abrams is an illustrated #ChildrensBook about a #Ferret's #Adventures. It features Chubby, a ferret that moves in a new home and tries to find a missing fellow ferret named Coco.
#Pets
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 2:00 am by Dolor.
supernatural143

The cover looks alluring to me. I am a fan of illustrated books, so I will read this book even in the absence of The First Ten program. The sample pages seem sad - especially when Chubby woke up without seeing Coco. Will he ever find Coco again? That's what I wanna know, so I will read this book. I saw a lot of minor errors in the sample pages: left out commas and an uncapitalized proper noun. "The next morning Chubby woke to find Coco missing." "The door was open so he began looking in all her favorite hiding spots." "Before leaving, mark patted him on the head." "He was sad because he wanted to see her too." I suggest a round of thorough editing. The official OBC review has piqued my interest. Despite the errors, I still want to read this book. In "Chubby Wubbles", M. J. Abrams weaves a fascinating tale for children. It is about Chubby, a ferret trying to find his fellow ferret named Coco.
#Ferret #Adventures #Pets #ChildrensBook
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 1:59 am by supernatural143.
Kelyn

Even if I had not been a member of this program, this book would likely have grabbed my attention. It is approximately on the level to read to my grandson, the genre is appropriate, and both title and cover are very engaging. (The ferret is adorable.) The title itself, being a bit silly, would likely have caught my attention and would also be a draw for children. The author is unknown to me, so that would not have been a factor. The blurb confirms that it is about ferrets and presents an intriguing mystery for children to solve, so it was a positive factor in my decision to purchase the book. There were no customer reviews to affect my decision one way or another. I am fond of ferrets and have played with them in the past, so reading the sample was a bit nostalgic for me. Ferrets are very playful and were represented quite well in the sample, which was also a plus. In short, I do intend to purchase a copy to read with my grandson. However, the book did not appear to be particularly well edited. Although the sample was short, I did find errors. One of these was: "The door was open, so he began looking in all her favorite hiding spots." – A comma is required after “open.”
First Ten review added on October 26, 2019, at 12:17 am by Kelyn.
Juliet+1

Based on the title, the cover, and the OBC review, I did not think I would be interested in reading this book. There are no small children in my family right now, and I do not read books for children.
Reading the sample pages did not change my mind. I won't be reading the rest of the book, simply because it is a children's book.
The writing and editing are fine, and I really liked the photographs. But I agree with the OBC reviewer that it would be nice to have more story to go with the pictures.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:38 pm by Juliet+1.
Scerakor

From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I wouldn’t have read it. I'm not really a fan of mixing illustrations with photography in my kids' books. After reading the first ten pages I didn’t change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I liked the way that the author balanced the words (and very few) on one page and the photos/illustrations on another. This allows children reading the story with their parents the option to simply look at the pictures on one side while listening. That being said, I'm very particular in the types of children's books that I buy and rarely by electronic versions for my kids. I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read, but it did seem well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 10:38 pm by Scerakor.
Nisha Ward

I'll be honest. The concept of the book is what attracted me, but I wasn't quite sold on it. In fact, I didn't even realise that Chubby and Coco might have been in a pet store until I read the review for the book. It's cute, though, and I think compressing the book so that the pages feel less empty would be of great benefit to that cuteness. I only really found one error on the first page and that was the use of the word "play" in the wrong context, and the language is simple to understand, but it's very much not for me, so I'll pass on this one.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 10:33 pm by Nisha Ward.
Verna Coy

Had I not sampled this book through the First Ten program, I would not have picked it up because I’m not usually drawn to books about ferrets. For this reason, I don’t intend to buy and read the whole book. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind. The book still didn’t grab my attention to the point I wanted to buy it. Based on what I read, it does not seem [professionally edited. I found errors such as sentence structure at location 21% of sample, “Mark put his pet ferrets, Chubby and Coco, to bed in their play in [should be ‘playpen’?] after another long day of fun and play [this is the 2nd time the word ‘play’ is used in the same sentence].” I also found an instance of missed capitalization at location 66% of the sample, “Before leaving, mark [should be ‘Mark’] patted him on the head.” What I liked most about the book is the affection the owner of his pets has for the ferrets, Chubby and Coco. I know that readers who enjoy books about ferrets will like this story. As far as improvement, the book could use another round of light proofreading to catch the errors. I did read the official Online Book Club review and found it informative.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 8:43 pm by Verna Coy.
Chelsy Scherba

“Before leaving, mark...” “mark” needs to be capitalized. I love the photos of the ferrets. They look so cute! I assume this book is based on a true story, so I’m curious to find out where Coco had disappeared to. I like the illustrations too, they are colorful and cute. I think kids will enjoy this book, but I agree with the reviewer that the writing could be improved and made more illustrative than it is. Otherwise, I like the story and concept. I’m not the target audience so I’ll pass on this book for now.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 8:31 pm by Chelsy Scherba.
Jsovermyer

The cover photograph is so cute. The title, Chubby Wubbles, is also great. I love to read children's stories and I was immediately drawn to this book. Chubby Wubbles is an adventurous ferret. With pictures of actual ferrets, this book is sure to delight children of all ages. When Chubby wakes up one morning, his friend Coco is missing. Will he find out where she has gone? The official review rated the book book well but said that some parts needed more development. The sample, which only included a few pages, contained no grammatical or spelling errors. I believe it has been professionally edited. I like to find books that my daughter can read to her Kindergarten class, so I would like to finish reading this one.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 8:25 pm by Jsovermyer.
Mary WhiteFace

Without the first ten program, I would not have wanted to read a children's book about a ferret. Reading the sample did not change my mind. The cover was cute and would appeal to the target audience. The photographs and cartoon drawings were a nice touch. The book did not seem to be professionally edited. The first sentence did not really make sense when read as written: "Mark put his pet ferrets, Chubby and Coco, to bed in their play in after another long day of fun and play." I would suggest changing it to: Mark put his pet ferrets, Chubby and Coco, to bed after another long day of fun and play. I would also recommend a thorough editing of the whole book, as the name Mark was not capitalized in one instance at location 62. Reading the OnlineBookClub review did not change my mind.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 8:10 pm by Mary WhiteFace.
Washboard

I don't interact with kids, so this genre isn't for me. The title is cute, but I think the cover photo could be adjusted to remove the green camera flash reflection from the ferret's eyes to make it a bit friendlier looking. The official review did not sway my opinion one way or the other. I noticed a missed capitalization for the name Mark on page 4. The formatting of the book also is all over the place when being read on a phone. The sample was so short that it is hard to know what the content will be like, but I liked the inclusion of the illustrations of the ferrets. However, I think choosing between illustrations and photos would be better than trying to use both. I won't be continuing to read this one, since it is a children's book and I don't interact with kids very often.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 8:10 pm by Washboard.
Brenda Creech

I like the cover, but it did not make me want to sample the book. I was unable to read very much because all I could access was the sample and the review. The portion I read was entertaining, and I loved the pictures in the book. However, I did agree with the reviewer that the dialog was a little too fast-paced. I believe if the author would go back and elaborate more on things like the search for Coco, it would improve the book tremendously. As for errors, the first sentence in the book was confusing. It reads: "Mark put his ferrets, Chubby and Coco, to bed in their play in after another long day of fun and play." I am not sure what that is supposed to say. Did Mark put them to bed in their 'playpen,' or what does 'play in' mean? Aside from that one sentence, I believe the book is well-edited. Although I think the storyline is suitable for young children, and the pictures are excellent, I do not intend to read this book, only because of not being interested in reading children's books except for doing a review.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 7:59 pm by Brenda Creech.
Mbrooks2518

The cover is cute, and the main character being a ferret is unique, so I would have read the sample even without The First Ten. This is a cute book, and I really like that there are pictures along with the other illustrations. I know my nephew would love this book, so I am going to buy it. There was an error on page five where the name Mark wasn't capitalized. Other than this mistake, there is nothing that needs to be improved. The official review did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 7:27 pm by Mbrooks2518.
HRichards

I normally wouldn't have picked this book up because it is for much younger readers. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book as I am not the age range targeted for this book. The sample deals with Chubby the ferret and his ferret friend, Coco. Chubby finds Coco missing and is upset when he can't find her. I didn't notice any grammar errors, but there were major formatting errors where every paragraph had a huge amount of spacing in between them. Young children might like this book, especially if they like animals. This book was not of interest to me because I'm not the target audience. I read the OBC review and it did not convince me that the book would appeal to me at all based on the simplicity of the plot.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 7:00 pm by HRichards.
Sarah_Khan

I would not have picked this up without the first ten program because I do not read children's stories. I am not a fan of the cover because of the contrast between the illustrations and the photograph. The title is average. The first few pages seem adequately edited, although I do not know what a "play in" is. The book also includes illustrations with photographs, which I am not a fan of. The writing is monotone, so I do not know if kids would actually enjoy this book. I think the author needs to add a more fun aspect or maybe make the story interactive. I do not intend to read the rest. I did not read any OBC review because I knew it would not change my mind.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 6:26 pm by Sarah_Khan.
unamilagra

Before sampling this book, I would not have picked it up. I am not in the market for childrens' books, and the OBC review mentions that it is not very well written anyway. In reading the free sample, I understood what the reviewer was saying. The story was very basic without much excitement. I also didn't really like the combination of photographs and illustrated pictures. I don't plan to read the book. I didn't notice any errors in the pages I read.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 6:02 pm by unamilagra.
evraealtana

I would not have chosen this book because it is a children's book and because the front cover looks unprofessional. There also isn't any indication from the art or title of what the story will be about.
Because the book is so short, the first 10% actually only consisted of three pages, which contained a total of 2 paragraphs of text. Therefore, I didn't really get much of a sense of the book in that span of time. I agreed with the official OBC reviewer that for a children's book there was a surprising lack of pictures. The text that I read made the book seem suitable for quite small children, but there were almost no illustrations to accompany the text. I liked that the book was about ferrets, since they are animals that children seem to like but don't have much experience with. I will not read the remainder of the book. I found no errors in my reading.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 4:01 pm by evraealtana.
ritah

Based on the cover and genre, I wouldn't have sampled the book because it didn't appeal to me. I read the official review and sampled Chubby Wubbles. I liked that the book had both real pictures and illustrations of ferrets. I hoped that Chubby would find Coco soon as they were so close and adorable together. The book appeared to be professionally edited as I did not spot any errors in the pages I read. I also didn't see any areas that could be improved. That being said, I won't be reading the rest of the book because the overall content isn't for me.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 3:58 pm by ritah.
MarisaRose

I actually reviewed this book sometime ago, so it's difficult for me to say if I would purchase this book blindly. Had I not reviewed this book previously, I most likely wouldn't consider purchasing this book blindly because it's a children's book and I don't typically purchase children's books. Due to the genre, an OBC review wouldn't sway my opinion about the book either. After sampling the book on Amazon, I can see the author has made quite a few changes since I originally reviewed "Chubby Wubbles." I didn't notice any grammatical errors in the sample, and I thought the addition of the cartoon illustrations was enjoyable. The version I reviewed didn't have these illustrations; the book only contained photographs at the time. I think this version of the book is more appropriate for the target audience. Although I was eager to see the changes made to this book, I don't plan to purchase "Chubby Wubbles" since I've already read the book.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 3:39 pm by MarisaRose.
MsH2k

When I saw the cover of this book, I would have sampled it to see the publish date, if nothing else. Sadly, it was published in 2019. I cannot imagine any child being interested in a book with a cover this antiquated. The sample pages were also a disappointment. The ferrets were put “to bed in their play in.” I don’t know what a “play in” is - I couldn’t find it defined, but I am assuming it is a playpen. There was a comma missing before the conjunction joining two independent clauses: “The door was open[,] so he began looking in all her favorite hiding spots.” The name Mark was not capitalized in one instance. I still can’t get past the book’s cover. I would not buy this book. The official OnlineBookClub review was very generous.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 3:24 pm by MsH2k.
Kaitlyn Canedy

I read the sample because the picture on the front was very attractive and seemed really cute for children to read. While I absolutely loved the story using Cubby the ferret as one of the main characters, I do not think that I will finish the rest of the book. This is because I do not like ferrets that much and I believe that it will affect my enjoyment of Chubby Wubbles. On a brighter note, I did not see any notable grammatical errors in the first half of the book. I do not know of anything that can be done to improve the book; it is excellent for children and maybe even adults to read! The Official OnlineBookClub review had much information about the book, but it did not affect my decision to read the whole book.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 2:33 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.
lavellan

I probably would have not read Chubby Wubbles if it had not been a part of the First Ten program. While the Book of the Day review was mostly positive, I'm not a part of the target audience. The book did not seem like it was professionally edited, and I noticed errors while reading. For example, a comma is needed before "so" in the following phrase: "The door was open so he began..." I enjoyed how the author included photographs and illustrations side-by-side. I didn't like the setup of the book; it was strange that there were multiple one to two sentence paragraphs per a page. The white background was also ill-fitting for a children's book. As a result of this, I will not buy the book today.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 2:29 pm by lavellan.
Laura Ungureanu

I wasn't really convinced by this cover, but the review made me curious about the book. I like that the purpose of this book is to get kids to see ferrets as adorable pets. Chubby and Coco are Mark's two ferrets. Things change when Chubby thinks he is left alone. The pictures were really convincing and well-chosen. I didn't feel the need to change things in the sample. I found a flaw in the sentence "Before leaving, mark patted him on the head". Since "mark" is a name I suppose it should have an uppercase letter. I like ferrets, but the sample wasn't enough to convince me to read this story. It was good, but not intriguing. Maybe kids will see it differently than I do.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 1:59 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
KendraRobinson

If I had not sampled this book, I would not have picked it up. The illustrations on the cover along with the title tell me that it is a children's story, so I am not the right audience. The OBC review I had read rated this book 3 out of 4 stars stating this is a quick and cute story about a pet ferret.
After sampling this book, I will not be finishing this one. The story began with two ferrets, Chubby and Coco. Chubby wakes up one day to find Coco missing. I liked the cute illustrations within the story; however, the formatting could have been improved. The pictures looked as if they should have been placed between paragraphs, but they were randomly placed within the story. There were 2 errors I had seen in the sample. Each error was a missing comma between two independent clauses. For example, "He was sad because he wanted to see her too." I will not be finishing this book mainly because I am not in the market for a children's book.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 1:44 pm by KendraRobinson.
Emy Katherine

The story focuses on the adventures of a little ferret named Chubby, who teams up with his owner, Mark, to find his friend, Coco. She mysteriously disappeared while Chubby was sleeping. I enjoy reading children's books, so I would have read the book based on the genre. The cover was cute, and both the Amazon blurb and the OBC review intrigued me enough to give this story a try. Sadly, I changed my mind after reading the sample. Even though I enjoyed the illustrations included in the story, I did not find the writing style particularly engaging. Also, I am not sure this short book was professionally edited; I found a typo and two punctuation errors. For example, the proper noun "Mark" should be capitalized in the following sentence: "Before leaving, mark patted him on the head." (location 62 of 65 • 95%) Also, there should be a comma after "open" in the following sentence: "The door was open so he began looking in all her favorite hiding spots." (location 36 of 65 • 55%)
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 1:06 pm by Emy Katherine.
Erin Dydek

Since this book is for children, I wasn’t particularly interested in buying it. In the sample, I enjoyed seeing that the two ferrets (Chubby and Coco) cared about each other. It was sweet that Chubby wanted to find his missing friend. The book seemed well-edited but the formatting was a little awkward on the ebook. I think this one may be better formatted as a paperback. The OBC review was informative but did not convince me to buy the book. I will not read the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 1:05 pm by Erin Dydek.
desantismt_17

This book’s title made me curious. The description sounded cute but didn’t quite grab me. Before sampling, I was considering reading. After sampling, I’ll give this a try. The book appears professionally edited. I noticed no errors. The text was just too cute to pass up. This story of Chubby and Coco playing and generally being adorable is the kind of thing that’s a quick read to just feel good after. It helped that I also wanted to know where Coco got off to, and I felt so bad for poor Chubby with his little tears and wondering if he’d ever find his friend after moving to a new home. I have no improvements to suggest at this time. The OnlineBookClub.org review was positive and bolstered my decision to read.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 12:56 pm by desantismt_17.
cpru68

Readers are introduced to Coco and Chubby, two pet ferrets as this children’s book opens. Chubby becomes upset when Coco goes missing and is no where to be found. The sample ends on this cliffhanger leaving readers to wonder where she is.
I won’t be finishing this book because I don’t fit the demographic, and I don’t have children of this age who would enjoy it. This seems to need a bit of work. On the few pages I read, there were huge spaces between the paragraphs. Some had pictures inserted while others did not. In addition, on the last page of the sample (location 62), the word “Mark” is in lowercase letters in this sentence: Before leaving, mark patted him on the head. This word should be capitalized because it’s a proper name. I think with such a glaring error as this, and especially in a children’s book where spelling is of utmost importance, another round of proofreading should be employed just to be sure all is done correctly. The large gaps on the other pages don’t seem necessary as well.
I appreciate the opportunity to have read the sample pages of this. I probably wouldn’t have found it without the online book club. I think with a little more attention to detail, it will be a better book.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:36 am by cpru68.
Aditi Sapate

I wouldn't have chosen to read this book based on the cover and genre as ferrets are not my pets of choice. Even after reading the sample, I didn't get an idea about the storyline. Here, the official OnlineBookClub review helped as the sample was really short. The sample contained no grammatical errors. However, Chubby and Coco's story seemed to be rushed. I will not be buying this book. The story could be more elaborate, which would be a big improvement.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:30 am by Aditi Sapate.
Aubrey Lewis

The overall appearance of the book doesn't look very eye-catching since it's not colorful enough and the font styles aren't very impressive in my opinion. When I read through the official OBC review, I felt uninterested in the book, mainly because I don't read children's books and I'm not a mother, either. When I finished sampling a few pages of the book, I decided not to read the rest of it. I noticed a typo in the contents: ["Before leaving, mark patted him on the head."] "mark" should be capitalized to "Mark" since it's a name. That's the only improvement I'm suggesting to the author since the entire reason why I'm not going to buy the book is because of my own personal preference. On the other hand, the photo of the ferret along with a cute artwork of Chubby and Coco above it is a great idea for the children to become engaged with the story.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:25 am by Aubrey Lewis.
LV2R

The book cover had a photo of a real ferret and a hand-drawn boy. The title was cute. I was not sure if I wanted to read the book or not. The Amazon blurb described the book as a young man and his pet ferret that was determined to find his missing playmate. They have “fun, mystery, and unexpected drama” in their exciting adventures. I wanted to read the sample. The sample began with Mark having two pet ferrets, Chubby and Coco. They liked to play together, but one morning Coco was mysteriously missing. I best like the hand-drawn pictures in the book because they were colorful and playful. The book does not seem to be edited well, as there were several errors noted. Location 21%: “…to bed in their play in after another long day.” (Should it say, … to bed in their playpen after another long day?) Location 66%: “Before leaving, mark (Mark) patted him on the head.” The OBC reviewer stated that there were few errors; however, I disagree. The font changes and the spacing is off as well as the errors stated above. The OBC reviewer liked the real photos of a ferret. I do not want to read this children’s short book about a pet ferret. I do not like the formatting problems and errors. I also do not think that the story is told well.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:25 am by LV2R.
Theresa Moffitt

I like the cover of this book and the title. This would appeal to its intended audience. I would have picked this book up based on the cover alone. I haven’t read a review of this book yet. I enjoyed the sample pages. The story would be interesting for children. I especially like the mix of illustrations and actual photos. This could help children to see what the animals really look like as opposed to just drawings. I don’t believe the book was professionally edited. I saw one error on the first page where it is written that they were put to bed in their “play in” . Also, the spacing seems off. With large spaces separating paragraphs. I won’t finish reading this book. I am not the intended audience. This is a children’s book, but I think it will be very entertaining for children and the story seems interesting for them.
First Ten review added on October 25, 2019, at 11:12 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Total ~ 20%
Chubby Wubbles earned a score of 20%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 20% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
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