Official Review: Space Ranger Fred and the Shoelace Adven...

CataclysmicKnight · Post by **CataclysmicKnight** » 06 May 2016, 16:13

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Space Ranger Fred and the Shoelace Adventure" by Matt Newnham.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Fred Sanders is a cute little boy, almost 7 years old, and he dreams of being an intergalactic space ranger like his hero Zando Centauri from his favorite comic book. He has a dog named Jupiter and thinks everything else, even playing outside, is booooring. Suddenly a loud noise gets his attention and he discovers it's "Zee Cee 1", Zando Centauri's ship, not far outside his house. Even more than that, Zando is there to pick up Fred himself! His mission - to tie a pair of shoes. This is really awesome, as it has a fun amount of explanation behind it and Fred has just learned to tie his shoes really well! Fred says that not only will he tie Emperor Gandori's shoes for him, he'll show him how. Will Fred successfully teach Emperor Gandori how to tie his shoes? Probably, since it's a children's book and it'd be downright mean to make a little boy fail his mission, but I won't spoil it!

The book is illustrated by Richie Williams, and there are a total of 11 illustrations in the 34 page book. The illustrations look like something from a basic art program (a step above MS Paint) and are colored simply, using solid color fills (no gradients - where colors blend into one another - instead filling in each space one solid color). While art like that would be out of place in almost any other circumstance, it actually works well here as the illustrations feel like kids drawings or coloring pages.

Fred has a youthful excitement about him that's contagious. The way he speaks with his dog is cute, and the illustrations of him and Zando are equally so. Zando has a very fatherly feel about him, making sure Fred closes the window to his bedroom before the rocket takes off so it doesn't make a mess in his room, then later ensuring he's buckled in for liftoff. These are lessons that every kid should follow - even when playing, it's important to be safe!

The whole time I read the book, I felt like it would work perfectly being read aloud in an energetic voice, and its brevity makes it both very readable (even at bedtime) and repeatedly readable. The fact that I didn't notice a single grammatical error is a major bonus as well, as it means no stumbling over words while reading it aloud. The book actually gave me the feel that perhaps Matt (the author) had read this to his kid himself, which is a very good thing. The "about the author" section states that his son is a teenager as of the writing of this book (dated 2015), and the acknowledgements section thanks his son, without whom he says he would not have made the leap into writing.

The very specific nature of the story makes it mostly applicable for kids at one particular point in their lives - while learning to tie their shoes and for a period of time after learning. For those this applies to, however, Space Ranger Fred and the Shoelace Adventure by Matt Newnham is definitely a book worthy of 4 out of 4 stars. As someone for whom this absolutely doesn't apply (I learned very late in life by comparison, but I'm in my 30s...), I still got a kick out of how cute this was, so anyone needing a little cuteness in their lives may enjoy it as well!

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Space Ranger Fred and the Shoelace Adventure
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Shelle · Post by **Shelle** » 07 May 2016, 12:51

Great review! This books sounds adorable. I have a 6-year old daughter and I could see her loving this book. She too is interested in space and loves a good adventure, so I'm sure she could easily relate to Fred.

Vermont Reviews · Post by **Vermont Reviews** » 07 May 2016, 14:13

Great review. Well written.

CataclysmicKnight · Post by **CataclysmicKnight** » 08 May 2016, 10:10

Shelle wrote:Great review! This books sounds adorable. I have a 6-year old daughter and I could see her loving this book. She too is interested in space and loves a good adventure, so I'm sure she could easily relate to Fred.

Awesome! Yeah, it's definitely not very gender-specific, even if the titular character is a boy. I bet she'll get a kick out of it too