Official Review: Granny’s Trilogy
Posted: 16 Apr 2020, 17:29
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Granny’s Trilogy" by Jo Anne Cushman Burrill.]
Granny's Trilogy by Jo Anne Cushman Burrill is a compilation of three children's stories - Granny Rainbow Thumbs, Granny Big Feet, and Granny Goes to the Fair. The author starts the stories with an introduction to explain her inspiration - the Bible. Each story is tied to a different Bible passage with the intent that young readers should learn different lessons throughout the stories.
In Granny Rainbow Thumbs, Granny Girl, or G G, is intent on making her own garden and picking each item by hand. As she starts to plant her seeds, she organizes her garden into a rainbow and plants each seed using only her thumbs. When her plants come time to harvest, she takes out each with just her thumbs, turning them all different shades of colors.
In Granny Big Feet, Granny is celebrating Halloween. Throughout the following days, she gets hungry and finds excuses to eat the candy. As she eats more and more, she finds that her feet are no longer comfortable in her knit socks. Will she give up the candy to make her feet stop growing?
Lastly, in Granny Goes to the Fair, it's time to go to the store. Unfortunately, Granny has a habit of making a terrible mess at each place she stops. Even when she goes home to make popcorn, it goes everywhere! Luckily, she finds something to do with the wonderful mess she made, even if it wasn't her initial plan.
I think my favorite of the three stories was the first. I enjoyed that kids can learn about colors and gardening. The story goes on to show them that they can really do whatever they want if they put their mind to it, even if they are young. The other two stories each have their merits as well but the first was my favorite.
That said, I didn't quite like that at the end of every story the author took you out of it to provide their message. I understand that the author wanted to incorporate the Bible messages, though I think the stories did well enough on that point. While they were at the end of the story, I didn't feel they were necessary.
Additionally, I noticed that some pages do not have pictures and, for younger readers, this may pull away some interest. Unfortunately, many kids like to have something to look at while reading to catch their attention. So, for readers who are in preschool, kindergarten, or the beginning of elementary school, they may be drawn to another book.
Overall, I have to give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I had to deduct a star given the grammatical errors I found in the story. The dialogue was not separated from paragraphs and some words were incorrectly separated. I think another proofread would be beneficial.
I think this would be a good book for young readers in elementary school. Given the above, I think younger children may be drawn to something more colorful and with more pictures. I also think that, given the messages the author wants to send, this may be good for young Christian readers. For those concerned about this, the religious messages are not prominent and don't take away from the story. In fact, if I had not read the introduction and about the author then I may not have recognized it.
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Granny’s Trilogy
View: on Bookshelves
Granny's Trilogy by Jo Anne Cushman Burrill is a compilation of three children's stories - Granny Rainbow Thumbs, Granny Big Feet, and Granny Goes to the Fair. The author starts the stories with an introduction to explain her inspiration - the Bible. Each story is tied to a different Bible passage with the intent that young readers should learn different lessons throughout the stories.
In Granny Rainbow Thumbs, Granny Girl, or G G, is intent on making her own garden and picking each item by hand. As she starts to plant her seeds, she organizes her garden into a rainbow and plants each seed using only her thumbs. When her plants come time to harvest, she takes out each with just her thumbs, turning them all different shades of colors.
In Granny Big Feet, Granny is celebrating Halloween. Throughout the following days, she gets hungry and finds excuses to eat the candy. As she eats more and more, she finds that her feet are no longer comfortable in her knit socks. Will she give up the candy to make her feet stop growing?
Lastly, in Granny Goes to the Fair, it's time to go to the store. Unfortunately, Granny has a habit of making a terrible mess at each place she stops. Even when she goes home to make popcorn, it goes everywhere! Luckily, she finds something to do with the wonderful mess she made, even if it wasn't her initial plan.
I think my favorite of the three stories was the first. I enjoyed that kids can learn about colors and gardening. The story goes on to show them that they can really do whatever they want if they put their mind to it, even if they are young. The other two stories each have their merits as well but the first was my favorite.
That said, I didn't quite like that at the end of every story the author took you out of it to provide their message. I understand that the author wanted to incorporate the Bible messages, though I think the stories did well enough on that point. While they were at the end of the story, I didn't feel they were necessary.
Additionally, I noticed that some pages do not have pictures and, for younger readers, this may pull away some interest. Unfortunately, many kids like to have something to look at while reading to catch their attention. So, for readers who are in preschool, kindergarten, or the beginning of elementary school, they may be drawn to another book.
Overall, I have to give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I had to deduct a star given the grammatical errors I found in the story. The dialogue was not separated from paragraphs and some words were incorrectly separated. I think another proofread would be beneficial.
I think this would be a good book for young readers in elementary school. Given the above, I think younger children may be drawn to something more colorful and with more pictures. I also think that, given the messages the author wants to send, this may be good for young Christian readers. For those concerned about this, the religious messages are not prominent and don't take away from the story. In fact, if I had not read the introduction and about the author then I may not have recognized it.
******
Granny’s Trilogy
View: on Bookshelves