1 out of 4 stars
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Tobey and Russ Go to the City by Douglas McAffee is a story about Tobey the Turtle and Russ the Rabbit. The two are good friends and neighbors that live in the country. While Tobey’s wife and kids are gone on vacation, he gets lonely and decides to go on an adventure to the city with Russ. The two purchase round-trip train tickets and embark on their journey. They meet new animals and see a ton of new sights. However, they soon realize that not everyone in the city is good. Will they make it back home safely?
Overall, I was disappointed in this story. First off, the plot of this book could use some work. There didn’t seem to be much of a defined storyline. Tobey and Russ just jumped around from place to place without any real purpose. This kind of makes sense within the context of the story, as they stated that they didn’t know what they were going to do in the city. Unfortunately, it made the story difficult to read through, and I started to lose motivation while reading the book. There was eventually a conflict toward the end of the story, but it was introduced and resolved within only a few paragraphs. The development of the conflict could easily have been started earlier, and the time to solve the problem could have lasted longer. I would have been more intrigued by the book if the conflict had been more prevalent throughout the story.
Also, the writing style and organization would make this book difficult for children to read. I was struggling as an adult, so I’m sure it would be difficult for children. Some of the vocabulary was difficult, and there were some sentences that would be too complex for younger audiences. In terms of organization, there weren’t transitional elements between some of the events, which got to be kind of confusing. The book also lacked the bubbly personality that is usually seen in children’s books.
Another major flaw of this book was that there were no pictures. The cover illustration was great, and I would have liked to see more pictures like it throughout the book. Not every children’s story needs pictures, but this one would benefit from them. There were overly long descriptions throughout the story that could have been eliminated if pictures were added. Another point to be made is that not every child would know what country and city settings look like. The pictures would really help them visualize these settings.
Finally, the book needs to be professionally edited. I noticed several errors throughout the story that distracted me from enjoying it. For example, one of the major errors was that the author kept switching between the past tense and present tense.
Based on the plot, writing style, and lack of pictures and editing, I give this book 1 out of 4 stars. I think that the book has some potential, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it is currently written. It is intended to be a children’s book, but I don’t think children would really enjoy it. I have two nieces who love it when I read to them. This just isn’t a book I can see them getting into since I even had a hard time finishing it.
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Tobey and Russ go to the city
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