Poppy's Rating Guide

The Brevity Test

I've learned a lot from reading.  I get to visit magical places and vicariously live as an underdog, a villain, a princess, a boy...experiencing so much that I never could have otherwise.  Like most people, I think that the content in fiction is very important.  If I can't believe in the subject matter or learn from it, and most of all, if I'm not intrigued by a book's story, it's not worth reading. 

But lately I have come to a new realization: brevity is king!  A book can be brilliant, but if it's not concise, it's just not that good.  Especially in kids' books!  If I can't finish one of my books in a week, and if I can't read one of my baby brother's books to him in 15 minute installments, it's just not that good.  That doesn't mean that a long book (Harry Potter, anyone?!?) can't be brilliant.  In some books, the content makes the length absolutely necessary.  If the author is good enough, they can make long parts seem short because the story is so good.  Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet "brevity is the soul of wit."  And nobody's said it better (or shorter!) than that.

Rating Guide

So here's my rating system for kids' books:  1 to 5 for content, 1 to 5 for brevity.  For a total of 10 Poppies  A 1 for content means it's boooooring.  A 1 for brevity means it's way too long to keep the interest of a kid like me. 

So far, I've tried to make graphic organizers for The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog and Melonhead and the We-Fix-It Company.  I didn't like either. 

Hank the Cowdog: 2 for content.  3 for brevity.  5 out of 10 Poppies ;)
Melonhead and the We-Fix-It Company: 3 for content.  3 for brevity.  6 out of 10 Poppies



Melonhead review:  I was intrigued by the Washington, D. C.  setting.  There are interesting characters like Pops and Madame and the kids.  But mostly, nothing happened in the first 7 chapters.  The We-Fix-It Company had barely started, and Melonhead had only gotten into a couple of scrapes.  This was my first Melonhead book, so maybe I really missed out on the first ones.  But I stand by my 6 out of 10 Poppies.