OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Heroes and Friends" by Rod Mortenson.]

Heroes and Friends: A Hot Summer Day by Rod Mortenson is a children’s chapter book about three little mice. Spike, Squeeky, and Curly want to head down to the pond to cool off from the heat of summer, but they quickly find themselves having an adventure they could never have planned. With the help of heroes and friends, the three mice must find a way to make it safely home to The Big Meadow.

Many of the elements in this book reminded me of my favorite books during my childhood. The author includes little line drawings at the beginning and end of each chapter as well as a labeled map of the mice’s world. I enjoyed how the mice met new characters along the way, allowing them to be introduced to the reader one at a time. There were also multiple subplots woven into the overall plot of the story, which made me eager to always find out what would happen next.

Although I enjoyed seeing the little mice progress in their journey, I have a couple of complaints about this book as well. Firstly, I found quite a few grammatical and punctuation errors in the book. They generally did not impede my understanding of the story, but there were enough for me to conclude that the book was not professionally edited. I was also confused by one plot point in the book. There is a character who is set up as an antagonist early in the story who then helps the three mice later with no explanation. This left me confused, and I assume that it would lead to confusion for a child as well.

Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the nostalgia of reading a fun chapter book with cute characters and drawings, but I’d like for the author to have it professionally edited and to include an explanation about why the antagonist decides to help the protagonists in their time of need.

I would recommend this book to parents of children ages 7 to 11. I could also see this being read to younger children as a bedtime story with parents reading one chapter aloud each night.

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Heroes and Friends
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That is unfortunate about the antagonist’s unexplained change—I would be suspicious if I were one of the mice. Great review!

Based on your review, this seems like a fun children's book. However, I am skeptical about picking it up because of the errors; I believe children's books should be as error-free as possible. You did a great job with the review.

While I have an aversion to mice, this book sounds cute! I just don't know if I would read it to my kids--too many errors! Thanks for the honest review!

Sounds like an adorable premise, capable of triggering plenty of nostalgic memories! Perhaps once the editing is addressed, these little mice can scurry into patiently waiting hearts. Thanks for the review!

This is a fun children's book. With mice involvement, there's bound to be plenty of tricks to get kids laughing.

On the one hand, I can see some kids just accepting that character's change. On the other, there are definitely kids who would question it. Either way, with more editing this could be a nice bedtime story.