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Reviewing
So, this is just a quick hit, because there are a lot of loose ends that need tying around here, but my dander is up today (yes, Mr. Storage Facility Guy, I know you caught the brunt of this at 7:30 this morning, but that was hardly my fault).
If one is reviewing a children's book, what does one say, really? How does one write critically about something that was composed to amuse someone whose sensibility is, literally, that of a two-year-old. What does it say about how lowbrow I am that some New York Times book reviewer's kid apparently has a much more sophisticated palate than I do?
As I've mentioned before, the Elephant and Piggie books are a huge hit on this end with both mother and child. They're amusing, easy to perform, don't get old fast, their repetition isn't insane-making (here I will confess that the 10,000 readings of Blueberries for Sal this summer makes me want to avoid Maine at all costs, even if it means not being able to hang out with bears and have the best blueberries in the world- a stiff sacrifice I know).
But apparently we're just easy because the New York Times critic and his kid find these stories facile, without depth, with jokes that are just too easy, lacking in the complexity of such works as Bread and Jam for Frances and Frog and Toad are Friends.
Don't misunderstand. I love the Frances books and Frog and Toad. I even have a friend who bears more than a passing resemblance to Frog. But those books are for rather more advanced readers than the Elephant and Piggie set (E&P books only have a few words on each page), so it is hardly a fair comparison.
Oh anyway, how does one judge a children's book? I know that they are written for children, but just as I absolutely want to spit every time I hear that ridiculous "My kid could paint that" comment in the vicinity of abstract art, I also don't really want to receive my reading recommendations from a critic's kid. Some times are better left to grown ups. Or am I not getting it and this reviewer just want to brag about his tot's good taste? That seems unwise. If I wanted child reviewers, I have easy access at the playground to plenty of children who are happy to volunteer their opinions on everything from my hair (frizzy, thanks) to fruit leather (good). I can also tell you that I don't really care about my kid as book critic yet. He has liked some pretty crappy books in his day.
But hey, Mo Willems doesn't need me to defend him. I'm sure he's doing better than fine. I suppose what I object to most in this article is the reviewer's utter determination to be a killjoy about some books that I have found pretty charming at many hours when it is hard to be amused.
posted by Elise at 4:06 PM
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Laura Kramarsky said...
Fie on them! I must be living in a cave, because I do not know who Willem is and I did not know that On The Road turned 50. I like Jan Harayda's children's book reviews over at http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/ . Actually, I like most of her reviews. The only problem I have found is that not all her children's book review show up under the category "children's books"--you have to look under the Caldecott and Newbery categories to find those reivews.
9/21/2007 12:03 AM
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Laura Kramarsky said...