Official Review: Anna and the Snowglobe by Vicki Jones

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kandscreeley
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Official Review: Anna and the Snowglobe by Vicki Jones

Post by kandscreeley »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Anna and the Snowglobe" by Vicki Jones.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Anna's parents died in a tragic car accident, leaving her to live with her Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. Her Uncle graciously decided to take her in, but her Aunt and Cousin are not happy that she is there. They bully her non-stop which not only makes her miserable but gives her great anxiety as well. How will she survive the loss of her parents and the constant bullying by her relatives?

Anna and the Snow Globe is a magical story of a 13 year old and how she deals with anxiety and bullying. The book has 12 short chapters, and would be good for ages 9 to 13. The author has stated that this would be appropriate for those up to age 17, but I believe the book would be a bit too simple for your average teenage reader.

The themes of bullying and anxiety are dealt with well in the book. The story would help younger children to continue to hope in spite of negative circumstances which I think is so important. However, the true horrors that come from bullying and maltreatment are somewhat glossed over here. I think it's understandable considering the age range for the book, but parents or guardians might want to be aware of this and help children to understand that circumstances aren't often overcome as easily as they are in fiction.

Some of the vocabulary might be a bit challenging for children of this age, but I think it is a great way to expand their knowledge. Words like acerbic and berating are used near the beginning. In addition, Anna on occasion speaks above her grade level. When she is describing her anxiety in the beginning, the description is almost too textbook for my taste. However, it does fit with the author's desire to teach children more about anxiety and how to deal with it; so, in my opinion, this can be easily overlooked.

Though the vocabulary was challenging, unfortunately, the book was not well edited. There were too many instances of missing punctuation, missing words and misused words. I believe that editing is even more important as a child is just learning, for they don't know the difference between good and bad grammar.

It is for these reasons that I rate Anna and the Snow Globe 3 out of 4 stars. The story is cute with a great lesson, but there were too many editing mistakes to justify a perfect rating. I believe that children facing hardships or anxiety issues would greatly benefit from reading this book. I would, again, caution that an adult should go over the lessons in this book with the child to reinforce the positive message and help children sort fiction from real life.

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Moderator's Note: The book has been edited since the review to correct the errors noted.
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Anna and the Snowglobe
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Post by gen_g »

Thank you for the detailed review! It seems like with another round of editing, it would be a great book for older children. I am glad that we have children's books like this discussing sensitive issues such as anxiety, since I believe that we need to educate our younger generations more about conditions like this, in order to reduce the societal stigma around said conditions.
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Post by Nmadinachi Egwim »

Sounds interesting! The informative parts about anxiety and bullying is very timely of the author to weave into the storyline.
A well done review!
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Post by tkrapish »

Thanks for the great review. It is good to see books like this geared to children. As a child books always gave me hope. I hope this book helps a child even though the editing and words weren't perfect.
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Post by Britty01 »

Thanks for the good review. It sounds like the book covers some useful subjects and hopefully with further editing will make it a good educational resource for young people.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Thanks guys. It is definitely a worth while read.
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Post by Laura Del »

That sucks about the grammar, you want a kids book to have good grammar. However, it is really cool that the author describes anxiety, even if it is textbook. Kids need to know about it and understand that there's nothing wrong with it. It just makes me sad that the grammar isn't better.
"Write drunk, edit sober."~Ernest Hemingway
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Post by Jackie Holycross »

As always your review is so well-written with thorough analysis. I feel like I completely understand this book by reading your review.
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Post by IntrovertBooklover »

I really like the cover of the book. It is lovely. Other than that, your review is excellent.
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Post by Dael Reader »

Wow. It sounds like this book could have some great potential, especially since the topic of bullying is such an important one to discuss with children. As a writer of juvenile nonfiction, I agree with you that children's books should not shy away from using challenging vocabulary. That is how most readers learn new words. I also agree that editing matters even more in children's books. So what a shame that a potentially good story has such problems. Nice review.
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Post by Kat Berg »

I like that people take on the challenge of writing these kinds of books. It can be hard to write something that educates, draws a reader in, and entertains. It sounds like the author managed this well. It really is such a shame about the editing errors. I sure hope the author takes the time to fix them. Great review.
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Post by Rated_derake »

wow... very nice...it has a good potential
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Post by Nimat87 »

Bullying is a troubling issue which is usually overlooked. I'm glad an author is covering something this sensitive in a way a child can easily understand and relate with. Too bad about the editing though. Thanks for the comprehensive review.
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Post by CommMayo »

Thanks for the well thought out review. I really like your recommendations in your last paragraph.
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Post by stacie k »

This sounds like a useful book to help kids understand and cope with anxiety and bullying, especially if an adult helps them to work through it. These topics are, unfortunately, relevant in today's society. I hope the author will take it to the next level. Thanks for sharing your assessment of this book and helpful suggestions.
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