Official Review: The House and the Doormat by Sherry Martin
Posted: 28 Apr 2020, 16:56
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The House and the Doormat" by Sherry Martin.]
The House and the Doormat by Sherry Martin is a children’s picture book. Ramona, a beautiful house, is always putting down Dusty, the doormat. Although Seemore, the window, says that Ramona will realize how important Dusty is one day, Dusty begins to lose his self-confidence due to Ramona’s mean comments. When Ramona is entered into a beautiful house contest, Dusty and Seemore worry that she will become more insufferable than ever. Will Dusty’s disappearance change Ramona’s viewpoint or will she be too busy admiring herself to notice his absence? Pick up a copy of this book to find out.
By far, my favorite part of this book is the illustrations by Lynda Farrington Wilson. I wasn’t sure how to imagine a living house made up of other living parts, but each picture helped me to see how Ramona, Dusty, and Seemore interacted. Furthermore, the illustrations really brought the characters to life and made me empathize with them as they displayed a wide range of emotions.
I also enjoyed the story in this book. The plot had just enough surprises to keep me interested, but the ending still managed to wrap up the story nicely. I could never guess where our characters were headed next, but each event included made sense within the context of the story. I really appreciated this, as many children’s books don’t include surprising elements.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed both the writing and illustrations, and I didn’t find any errors in it. My only complaint is that the font is a little small, but I didn’t think this was a big enough issue to merit removing a star.
I would recommend this book to parents of children ages six to nine. This would be a great book to read with a kid who struggles with self-esteem like Dusty. Alternatively, it could spark empathy in children who tend to exclude others like Ramona does. Either way, this book has valuable lessons for all young children to learn.
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The House and the Doormat
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The House and the Doormat by Sherry Martin is a children’s picture book. Ramona, a beautiful house, is always putting down Dusty, the doormat. Although Seemore, the window, says that Ramona will realize how important Dusty is one day, Dusty begins to lose his self-confidence due to Ramona’s mean comments. When Ramona is entered into a beautiful house contest, Dusty and Seemore worry that she will become more insufferable than ever. Will Dusty’s disappearance change Ramona’s viewpoint or will she be too busy admiring herself to notice his absence? Pick up a copy of this book to find out.
By far, my favorite part of this book is the illustrations by Lynda Farrington Wilson. I wasn’t sure how to imagine a living house made up of other living parts, but each picture helped me to see how Ramona, Dusty, and Seemore interacted. Furthermore, the illustrations really brought the characters to life and made me empathize with them as they displayed a wide range of emotions.
I also enjoyed the story in this book. The plot had just enough surprises to keep me interested, but the ending still managed to wrap up the story nicely. I could never guess where our characters were headed next, but each event included made sense within the context of the story. I really appreciated this, as many children’s books don’t include surprising elements.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed both the writing and illustrations, and I didn’t find any errors in it. My only complaint is that the font is a little small, but I didn’t think this was a big enough issue to merit removing a star.
I would recommend this book to parents of children ages six to nine. This would be a great book to read with a kid who struggles with self-esteem like Dusty. Alternatively, it could spark empathy in children who tend to exclude others like Ramona does. Either way, this book has valuable lessons for all young children to learn.
******
The House and the Doormat
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
