3 out of 4 stars
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Matt's Best Christmas Ever is a children's book written by Herb Marlow and published in 2000. The main character of the story is an eight-year-old boy Matthew Wafer, who lost his father through the Korean War. He was being cared for by his mother Vivian Wafer as a single parent. The setting of the story is Rolf in Texas.
It was a few days before Christmas. Whilst Matthew was walking home from school, he had an encounter with a friendly old man called Sam Clawson. Through their conversation, he learned that his new friend had no place of abode. Matthew convinced her mother to allow his friend to join them in their house and spend the Christmas with them. Mr Clawson's stay with the Wafer family brought happiness and satisfaction to them until the unexpected happened. Their kindness and generosity brought the emotional swings.
This is one of the loveliest Christmas books for children. It is filled with lots of suspense as the story can glue readers to their seats for over an hour. I am very impressed with the use of literary devices. Although few rhyming words and personifications have been used, they make reading interesting. Children learn values such as respect for the elderly, kindness and peacefulness. The creativity of the Wafer family equally moved me. They made all the Christmas gifts by themselves. Every chapter contains well-illustrated pictures which simplify reading. This book is suitable for children of all ages. Parents can read to the hearing of children who have not attained the ages of reading.
However, I realized some vocabularies were above the comprehension of children. This may impede the speed of reading as children will have to refer to the dictionary very often during the reading process. It is necessary to use simple vocabulary so children will easily understand. Also, some words are over-spaced whilst some sentences are jumbled. I am wondering if the author carefully read through the book before publishing. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that his books are well edited. A well-edited book raises the level of confidence of readers. He can employ the services of a professional editor to assist him to achieve this. I think this is not too late. The author must fix them and present the book again for another review.
It's unfortunate I had to remove one star off by rating Matt's Best Christmas Ever 3 out of 4 stars. I hope these recommendations will be taken in good fate. I will be happy to write a second review of this book after the necessary corrections have been made.
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Matt's Best Christmas Ever
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