Animal Crackers

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 13, 2017

Review

The illustrations in this elementary-level GN are lovely, vibrant and colorful and filled with adorable (not scary) clowns and circus animals, but the story suffers from too much authorial voice. Sava offers too much exposition, especially in a GN where the story can be SHOWN as much as told. Owen, his sister Zoe, and their Uncle Doug go to the circus. Zoe discovers that she has a knack for talking with animals and learns that they are unhappy (they were stolen from the zoo?). The word "dumb" is used over and over to describe the animals; this won't sit well with many young readers. Cue the evil ringmaster who attempts to sic his acrobatic henchmen on the three innocent circus watchers so that he can kidnap them and use Zoe's skill to his financial advantage (how was he going to get away with this?). Cue the gypsy Esmerelda who gives Owen a box of magic animal crackers so that he can fight the ringmaster (why couldn't she fight him herself?). Everything is told point-blank with zero intrigue unfolding for the reader and no explanation is given about the ringmaster or the backstory of the circus. The plot is appealing, but it needed more crafting and editing. Kids deserve more nuanced, intelligent storytelling.

Overall Book Score: poor