Review of Orcas Forever
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Zubaida Hussain
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- Latest Review: Orcas Forever by Marie-Paule Mahoney
Review of Orcas Forever
[Following is a volunteer review of "Orcas Forever" by Marie-Paule Mahoney.]
Review of Orcas Forever
Orcas Forever is a story by Marie Paul Mahoney published by Outskirts Press in 2022. It was illustrated by Ginger Triplett and portrays a dramatized real life story of a pod of Orcas habiting the Salish sea. It incorporates rich details and invites young readers to image the Orcas' daily activities as they prepare together for special celebration. Readers can learn about way Orcas communicate, their strong family ties and their unique cultures.
Overall the book has some amazing information for kids and a mystical atmosphere, bringing to mind fantasy and adventure. However, the writing style lacks clarity, sounding more like a research paper or magazine article rather than a narrative aimed at children.
The positives about the book were the gorgeous illustrations, lots of interesting information, and strong research. The illustrations were beautiful and mesmerizing with lots of color and they create the right atmosphere for a children's book. They pull the reader into the story, and help younger audiences to imagine the setting of the story.
The information provided in the book, via the story, is quite engaging and new for both students and layman adults. As such, the book has some intrinsic value for education and spreading awareness regarding the plight of the orca. The afterward, along with references provided, serve to give the book a wholesome and solid background. This also means that kids are provided with further avenues for information within the book.
It is evident from the writing that the author is new to writing stories and that their forte lies in writing in the informational or research style. The author is not familiar with the conventions of storytelling and fails to establish connections between setting, characters and story. As a result, the whole book seems disjointed and lacks context. This kind of a writing style will be very difficult for children to understand, or take interest in. It comes off as dry and regurgitory rather than flowing naturally.
The text does not match with the illustrations, often falling on the next page or the page before it. This makes the story even more disjointed and hard to comprehend. For children, it is crucial that the text and the illustration rest on the same page so that making connections between the two becomes easier. All the beautiful illustrations in the world cannot complete the story properly less they are situated within the book in a logical order.
While the author was clever to include an afterward with details about orcas, however keeping in mind the writing style a foreword introducing the context and background of the story is essential. For a children's book, the authoring includes too many difficult words and does not explain them. I suggest adding columns on the side to give definitions for easier understanding.
The book was informational and gorgeously illustrated, however it is too difficult for children to read and enjoy. The story needs reworking for it to become a good children's book. I give it a rating of 3/5.
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Orcas Forever
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Review of Orcas Forever
Orcas Forever is a story by Marie Paul Mahoney published by Outskirts Press in 2022. It was illustrated by Ginger Triplett and portrays a dramatized real life story of a pod of Orcas habiting the Salish sea. It incorporates rich details and invites young readers to image the Orcas' daily activities as they prepare together for special celebration. Readers can learn about way Orcas communicate, their strong family ties and their unique cultures.
Overall the book has some amazing information for kids and a mystical atmosphere, bringing to mind fantasy and adventure. However, the writing style lacks clarity, sounding more like a research paper or magazine article rather than a narrative aimed at children.
The positives about the book were the gorgeous illustrations, lots of interesting information, and strong research. The illustrations were beautiful and mesmerizing with lots of color and they create the right atmosphere for a children's book. They pull the reader into the story, and help younger audiences to imagine the setting of the story.
The information provided in the book, via the story, is quite engaging and new for both students and layman adults. As such, the book has some intrinsic value for education and spreading awareness regarding the plight of the orca. The afterward, along with references provided, serve to give the book a wholesome and solid background. This also means that kids are provided with further avenues for information within the book.
It is evident from the writing that the author is new to writing stories and that their forte lies in writing in the informational or research style. The author is not familiar with the conventions of storytelling and fails to establish connections between setting, characters and story. As a result, the whole book seems disjointed and lacks context. This kind of a writing style will be very difficult for children to understand, or take interest in. It comes off as dry and regurgitory rather than flowing naturally.
The text does not match with the illustrations, often falling on the next page or the page before it. This makes the story even more disjointed and hard to comprehend. For children, it is crucial that the text and the illustration rest on the same page so that making connections between the two becomes easier. All the beautiful illustrations in the world cannot complete the story properly less they are situated within the book in a logical order.
While the author was clever to include an afterward with details about orcas, however keeping in mind the writing style a foreword introducing the context and background of the story is essential. For a children's book, the authoring includes too many difficult words and does not explain them. I suggest adding columns on the side to give definitions for easier understanding.
The book was informational and gorgeously illustrated, however it is too difficult for children to read and enjoy. The story needs reworking for it to become a good children's book. I give it a rating of 3/5.
******
Orcas Forever
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Orcas Forever by Marie-Paule Mahoney
