Official Review: Looice in the Stargarden by Ben Goldstein
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
Official Review: Looice in the Stargarden by Ben Goldstein
Santa Claus has lost his toys for all the good boys and girls of the world. Looice decides that he'll help Santa out by making a few presents. Along the way, he comes up with a few surprises. Find out if Santa ends up with enough presents for all the children of the world in Looice in the Stargarden.
The words of this book first appeared in a play written by the author and illustrator, Ben Goldstein. As such, you can find the song on Amazon and iTunes for sale. I previewed it, and it is catchy. It would be fun to have children listen to the song while looking at the words, especially because the vocabulary is challenging as I will discuss later. Therefore, it would be more convenient if the author sold the book and song together as one package.
The story follows the adventures of Looice from the third-person perspective. We are told before the book begins that the name is pronounced Lewis, for which I'm grateful as I wasn't sure. The author never specifies the age group of the target audience; however, I would guess it to be elementary-age children from the picture to word ratio.
Speaking of which, the illustrations appear to be hand-drawn. Though most of them are dark, taking place among the stars, they are colorful and engaging. My favorite was a picture of Looice giving jellybeans to astronauts. The one downside to the drawings was that the figures in them (e.g. Looice and Santa Claus) were small. Perhaps the author was trying to demonstrate the vastness of space.
Most of the pages in the book have words on one side with the drawings on the opposite side. In a few, the picture took up the entire two pages with words in a box within. The font consists of different colors, which further engages kids. All of this helps to keep the story from being boring, which is helpful when dealing with children with short attention spans.
While I must commend the author on an exceptionally well-edited book, the vocabulary is extremely troubling for the apparent age of the intended audience. Here I quote one of the more difficult passages in the story. "He took chromium, beryllium, onyx, aluminum, rubies, sapphires, garbage, spare tires, beams of light from satellites." The sentence is fun to say aloud, but Mr. Goldstein misses a teachable moment. He could have helped children understand better what these are and how to say them.
This brings up another great issue. There's not really any purpose for the book. There's no real lesson taught (at least nothing overt). Children aren't more educated after reading the story. However, this isn't necessarily negative. I'm of the opinion that kids should be able to read and enjoy a story simply for the sake of reading. This book is fun, and I believe many would like it.
As an amusing and entertaining story, I rate Looice in the Stargarden by Ben Goldstein 3 out of 4 stars. I've taken away a star because some of the words are too advanced for what appears to be the correct audience. I recommend the book for elementary age children looking for a unique story. I am interested to see what other adventures Looice goes on in future books.
******
Looice in the Stargarden
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
—Neil Gaiman
- Silpi B
- Posts: 62
- Joined: 10 Jul 2020, 09:57
- Currently Reading: My Angel My Hero
- Bookshelf Size: 34
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-silpi-b.html
- Latest Review: The Vanished by Pejay Bradley
- Saint Bruno
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 1799
- Joined: 28 Aug 2020, 14:47
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 192
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-saint-bruno.html
- Latest Review: The vampires missing cape by Steve Stables
- Anusha Thatavarthi
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 775
- Joined: 07 May 2020, 09:05
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 129
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-anusha-thatavarthi.html
- Latest Review: The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings
- Luluwa79
- Posts: 262
- Joined: 27 Jul 2020, 08:35
- Favorite Book: Peter and the Parachute
- Currently Reading: How To Be Successful
- Bookshelf Size: 39
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-luluwa79.html
- Latest Review: Peter and the Parachute by Nicola Ridgeway and James Manning
I wouldn't want to read a novel that i won't learn from, but the book seems interesting.
Thanks for the insightful review.
-
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 442
- Joined: 19 Aug 2020, 19:14
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 90
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-faithy-star.html
- Latest Review: Autism: One Grandparent's Roadmap by Geoffrey Robinson
- Harty Muli
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: 28 May 2020, 09:21
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 271
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-harty-muli.html
- Latest Review: A King Amongst Us by A.D. Lewis
-
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 24 Jul 2019, 14:58
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 2
- Ellylion
- Posts: 3249
- Joined: 01 Mar 2019, 15:33
- Favorite Book: The Altitude Journals
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 136
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ellylion.html
- Latest Review: The Islands Tell Of It by Patty Fischer
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
You should. It's very interesting. I do recommend the song as well. Thanks!ephemeral_happiness wrote: ↑15 Nov 2020, 00:29 This is such an interesting review. The very prospect of Santa losing all his toys for the good girls and boys and Looice deciding to help him makes a wonderful backdrop for the story. Even though I am not of the targeted audience age group, I would love to read this book.
—Neil Gaiman
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
Any adults like enjoy children's books would be perfect for this story, though. It could be a teachable moment if parents want to read this aloud to their kids as well. Thanks.Saint Bruno wrote: ↑15 Nov 2020, 03:54 I can relate with the reason you took a star off this book's rating. I think authors should pay more attention to how appropriate their materials are for their target audience. Thanks for this awesome review and recommendation.
—Neil Gaiman
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
Yes, the pictures are quite detailed, and the changing fonts makes this fun. Thanks for commenting.
—Neil Gaiman
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
It's an interesting story. Children could definitely learn a few new words from it at least. Thanks for your thoughts.
—Neil Gaiman
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
Yes, the illustrations in the book are a great way to keep children interested. These are fun and colorful. Thanks.Faithy_Star wrote: ↑16 Nov 2020, 08:17 I'm of the view that illustrations should be present in books for children as they have a way of keeping them interested in such books. Nice review!
—Neil Gaiman
- kandscreeley
- Special Discussion Leader
- Posts: 11683
- Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
- Currently Reading: Believarexic
- Bookshelf Size: 486
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
- Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David
I think it's my favorite season as well. It's nice that it's coming up quickly! Thanks.
—Neil Gaiman