The latest book I'm reviewing for Bring It On Communications, is Smoothie Rock-A-Teller on the Whopper Stopper by Dr. Gerald Mittmann. It is illustrated by Gregory Cannone. The book was published in 2011 by Fish Pond, a division of Deep River Books.
Smoothie Rock-A-Teller is a children's book about David and Goliath, told from the perspective of a rock. There are 5 chapters and each chapter ends with a Devotion Time. The first chapter is about being made by God, the second chapter is when we meet Goliath, the third chapter is when we meet David, the fourth chapter is when David goes to the Israel camp, and the fifth chapter is when David defeats Goliath. Each devotion time at the end of each chapter asks questions about the story and ends with a prayer. Since this book is told from the perspective of a rock, the rock re-names everything according to it's perspective. Here are some examples of the rock's new names: a fish is called a "wiggle-mover," people are called "talking-walk-abouts," and sheep are called "baa-baa-mini-cloud-walkers."
It took my 4 year old son and I a couple of months to read this book! It is 52 pages long, and I don't think it's appropriate for a 4 year old. Since the rock re-names everything, it's very difficult to follow who's who in the story, especially if there's some time gaps in between the days when you read it. Also, 4 year olds are already trying to figure out the right name for things, so when things are named the "wrong" thing, it makes it difficult to keep everything straight. The questions at the end of the story are great, but again, my 4 year old wasn't able to answer most of them. I did really like the illustrations in the book, though. They're very bright and colorful, and really make the story come to life. I think we will try reading it again when he's at least 6 years old. I think my son would be able to appreciate and understand this book much better then.
If you would like to buy this book for your own boy or girl(I do recommend ages 6 and up), here are the #'s: ISBN 10: 1-935265-78-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-935265-78-8. It sells for around $10 on amazon.com.
Have any of you already read this book with your child? What did you think?
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