Official Review: The Adventures of Blizzard

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bookowlie
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Official Review: The Adventures of Blizzard

Post by bookowlie »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Adventures of Blizzard" by Mark Cartwright.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Adventures of Blizzard by Mark Cartwright is a children’s picture book about the friendship between a homeless dog and a young boy. Blizzard, a stray dog, notices a boy in the park who appears to be lonely. They start playing together and the boy’s mother agrees to take Blizzard home with them. Happy to live with a nice family, Blizzard has to adjust to the other dogs in the neighborhood.

I enjoyed the timeless premise of this cute story. Sometimes all it takes is a dog to cheer a person up. In this case, the positive feelings are mutual as Blizzard is given a loving home. The friendship theme continues as Blizzard gets to know the other dogs.

There are full-length illustrations on each page. The artwork is colorful and provides visual cues for children to easily follow along with the story. I liked that each page of text contains a simple action; this way kids would not get overwhelmed by too much happening at the same time.

I found one part of the story a little confusing. When the boy and his mother bring Blizzard home, it is apparent that they also have another dog, Dixie. I questioned the necessity of a new dog to enable the boy to laugh and smile again, since the child already owned a nice, playful dog. Also, the ending is a bit abrupt, although younger children may not mind this too much.

The only characters with actual names are the dogs. As a result, there is an impersonal feel to the boy and his mother. I was particularly surprised that the boy was not referred to by name, as he is one of the two main characters in the book. It was a little odd that all of the dogs have names, yet the human characters do not. The characters are not fleshed out well. While there is a quick description of the neighborhood dogs’ individual personalities, the only information about the young boy is his sad demeanor at the beginning of the story. Once Blizzard comes home with them, the plot makes a definite shift to Blizzard getting to know the other dogs rather than playing with the boy.

I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. It’s a sweet, uplifting story suitable for ages 2-6. Dogs are a popular subject in children’s picture books and Blizzard is certainly an appealing character. I would recommend the book to young children who enjoy a simple, fun story with a positive message.

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The Adventures of Blizzard
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Post by gali »

Sounds like a cute book for kids. I love dog tales myself! It is indeed odd that only the dogs have names and not their caretakers. I am glad you enjoyed the book. Thank you for the great review!
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Post by Donnavila Marie01 »

This book sounds interesting for kids. Most kids can relate to this story because most kids have dogs. Congratulations for the nice illustration.
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Post by MsMartha »

This sounds like a book my grandson would enjoy--he's a dog lover! Thanks for the review!
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Post by kandscreeley »

This sounds like a cute story. Children are always fascinated by dogs. This sounds perfect! Thanks for the review.
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Post by Amagine »

It sounds like a great children's story. I would also prefer for the characters to be more fleshed out and for all of them to have names. When a child knows the name of a character, it builds a connection. Besides that, I love the premise of the story. This would be a great book for parents to read with children.
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Post by bookowlie »

Thanks everyone for the nice feedback. Gail, I also thought it was strange that the humans weren't given names, especially the little boy. Amagine, I agree it's easier to for children to relate to named characters.
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Post by Chrys Brobbey »

Oh! How come the boy and his family are not given names. A very odd matter indeed. Thanks for a good review.
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Post by Kitkat3 »

That's interesting that the humans don't have names. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a cute story.
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Post by Shreyoshi Sen »

Nice review. The book is good for children I guess.
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Post by bookowlie »

Chrys Brobbey wrote:Oh! How come the boy and his family are not given names. A very odd matter indeed. Thanks for a good review.
Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the forums! I am assuming the boy and his mother were not given names in order to focus on Blizzard the dog. Still, the boy seemed to be the other main character in the story so I think he should have been given a name.

-- 16 Apr 2017, 12:30 --

Thanks Kitkat3 and Shreyoshi Sen for the feedback. Even though the boy and his mother were not named, the story was enjoyable and had a positive message.
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Post by epepreye »

There are full-length illustrations on each page. The artwork is colorful and provides visual cues for children to easily follow along with the story. I liked that each page of text contains a simple action; this way kids would not get overwhelmed by too much happening at the same time.
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Post by bookowlie »

epepreye wrote:There are full-length illustrations on each page. The artwork is colorful and provides visual cues for children to easily follow along with the story. I liked that each page of text contains a simple action; this way kids would not get overwhelmed by too much happening at the same time.
I appreciate that you took the time to read my review, although I am not sure why you just posted word for word an entire paragraph I wrote in the review, and nothing else. Did you intend to write something else after that?
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Post by Marika Tabone »

This seems to be a sweet book my children would enjoy. They love animals particularly dogs. If it is an easy ready it would be ideal to read it with them.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

Hey, I read this one too! It's funny, I didn't even think about the characters not having names, but you're right, they don't. I guess I focused on the dogs themselves more than the people. I love seeing what others think of the books I've read. Thank you for your insightful thoughts, bookowlie! :)
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