Official Review: Telly Tales III by Paul David Powers

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 11 Jan 2016, 17:52

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Telly Tales III" by Paul David Powers.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Telly Tales III: Telly's Early Days is a collection of short children's stories that teach Biblical concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. The main character, Telly the Owl, is the overseer of a swamp community consisting of various animals who often find themselves in moral conundrums. Using the Bible as a guide, Telly helps his friends work through their problems. As the name implies, this the third book that chronicles the adventures of Telly and the members of the swamp community.

This latest installation of the series is broken into two parts. Part One focuses upon Telly and his past, while Part II is centered around Telly's son, Thomas. Both parts of the book contain brief stories that highlight a specific Biblical teaching, although Part I does occasionally break away from this format to provide information about Telly's life before he came to the swamp.

Telly Tales III is bursting with potential, and as a Christian, I admire the author's efforts to teach the Bible to young readers. However, there is definitely room for improvement. The best way I could describe this book is that it is a diamond in the rough.

I want to begin by discussing the outwardly positive aspects of the book. The author did a wonderful job of developing his characters and providing backstories when applicable. Although I have not read the first two books in the series, I had no problem following the plotlines or understanding the social dynamics of the swamp community. I also found the characters to be original and well-suited to young children.

The few examples of original artwork within the book were cute and whimsical, and I felt that they fit their stories quite nicely. However, the author relied predominately on stock images, which I found very disappointing. I am curious as to why the author didn't just stick with original drawings throughout the book, as the stock photos were far less interesting and often didn't fit well with the "feel" of he stories.

The writing was passable, but there were some minor errors that kept popping up. The book contained a few misspellings, omitted words, and random changes in verb tense. Additionally, sometimes the author used phrases or idioms to describe characters or events that might not be understood by young children.

The delivery of the stories was good overall, but there were a few that did not tie in very well with their corresponding Biblical concepts, mainly because they were just too brief to effectively demonstrate the lesson at hand. There was also on lesson based upon the story of King David and Bathsheba that I personally feel should not be included in the book. The story of David and Bathsheba is not child-friendly, and it's Telly Tales equivalent might put parents in the awkward situation of trying to explain it to their little ones.

The author also included a disclaimer at the beginning of Part II that apologized for his beliefs and asserted his desire to not offend anyone. I found this strange because a) It appeared halfway through the book, as opposed to the beginning, and b) The book is obviously intended for a Christian audience, who would agree with the author's viewpoint. While it is good to be sensitive to the beliefs of others, I don't think that a disclaimer was necessary in this case.

Telly Tales III has promise, but it needs some cleaning up. I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. With a little polishing, it would be a good fit for children between the ages of three and seven years.

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Telly Tales III
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gali · Post by **gali** » 12 Jan 2016, 09:22

Great review! Sounds like a book with potential to the right audience.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 12 Jan 2016, 09:35

gali wrote:Great review! Sounds like a book with potential to the right audience.

Thank you, Gali!

bluemel4 · Post by **bluemel4** » 12 Jan 2016, 10:47

Very well-written review. It seems like this book could be a great religions teaching tool after some editing and new drawings.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 12 Jan 2016, 13:08

bluemel4 wrote:Very well-written review. It seems like this book could be a great religions teaching tool after some editing and new drawings.

Thanks, Bluemel! It does have a lot of potential!

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 13 Jan 2016, 08:56

The book sounds like a worthy undertaking, it is just too bad that the final product did not deliver on its initial promise. Great job with the review!

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 14 Jan 2016, 13:36

rssllue wrote:The book sounds like a worthy undertaking, it is just too bad that the final product did not deliver on its initial promise. Great job with the review!

Thanks, rssllue! I do hope that the author is able to clean it up!

Post by **bookowlie** » 24 Jan 2016, 17:24

Nice, insightful review! You made really good points about using stock images vs. original drawings and a few of the stories not tying in well with the related Biblical concepts. I also like your description of the book as a diamond in the rough.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 25 Jan 2016, 08:30

bookowlie wrote:Nice, insightful review! You made really good points about using stock images vs. original drawings and a few of the stories not tying in well with the related Biblical concepts. I also like your description of the book as a diamond in the rough.

Thank you, Bookowlie! Your input is much appreciated!

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 29 Jan 2016, 08:54

Great review. It seems that this book has the potential to be a great children's book if if a few changes are done.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 29 Jan 2016, 13:26

stoppoppingtheP wrote:Great review. It seems that this book has the potential to be a great children's book if if a few changes are done.

Thank you! Yes, it does have potential!

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 30 Jan 2016, 11:30

Such a cute idea for a book. Shame it fell flat on some points. I sincerely hope the author is able to take your advice and polish up the book, especially the pictures! Illustrations are so important in creating a good children's book.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 30 Jan 2016, 13:11

Rachaelamb1 wrote:Such a cute idea for a book. Shame it fell flat on some points. I sincerely hope the author is able to take your advice and polish up the book, especially the pictures! Illustrations are so important in creating a good children's book.

Thanks, Rachelamb! I agree, illustrations can really make or break a children's book!