OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chubby Wubbles" by M. J. Abrams.]

With its weasel relatives and a penchant for sleeping most of the day, a ferret isn’t exactly the pet every child dreams of raising, but M. J. Abrams’ book Chubby Wubbles: A Ferret’s Tale is trying to change that fact. A short book illustrated by photographs, this children’s tale tells the story of the ferret, Chubby.

Just before Chubby the ferret moves into a new home, his lifelong friend and fellow ferret, Coco, mysteriously goes missing. Chubby is distressed by her absence, but he is soon distracted by his transition into a new home. As the reader peruses the book, he or she will learn what kinds of trouble Chubby will find as he explores his new surroundings and whether he will ever meet up with his dear friend Coco again.

The photograph illustrations in this book made it special. In children’s books, pictures are especially important because they keep nonreaders and beginning readers engaged in the story and bring the characters to life. Especially for children who may never have encountered a ferret before, the photographs will make the story feel very real. Some readers might prefer to have the human characters Mark and Jeffrey included in the photographs, but others might use their absence to imagine themselves in the humans’ places.

The writing itself was adequate, but it could be improved. There were no obvious spelling or grammar errors, and the story stayed away from difficult words, for the most part. However, the writing seems hastily put together and focuses more on telling the story than showing it. The point of view is unclear, as sometimes the storytelling seems to emanate from the humans’ perspective while at other times it seems to switch to Chubby’s perspective. The author glosses over details and small events that potentially could have been excellent plot points. The initial search for Coco in the very beginning, for example, could have been drawn out a bit in order to show Chubby’s love for his friend.

The dual plot-line would also be a debatable detail. In a book that is only 24 pages long (including photographs), there is a lot of ground to cover. This means that plot developments happen rapidly with little contemplation ahead of time or reflection after the fact. There were plenty of spaces where it seemed like the material begged for elaboration so as to explore a feeling or a phenomenon. It feels like Chubby could be a feature character in a series of books derived from this one if the plot were thoroughly explored.

As the book stands, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. Chubby Wubbles: A Ferret’s Tale is unique among children’s books by virtue of the photographic illustrations and the species of its main character. The lack of errors also contributes to its high rating. With that acknowledged, the book could still be improved, and I hope the author does revisit the text in order to draw out its full potential as a story. Maybe there will be some children who start hoping for their own pet ferrets just like in the book.

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Chubby Wubbles
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This book need to improve in term of its content. To cover the need of nowdays children

Personally, I LIKE ferrets. I think they are cute. I have yet to have one as a pet, but I would definitely consider it. I love the actual photographs as well. Thanks!

I would love to read the book to my 5 year old niece. The photograph illustrations are helpful in enhancing the reader's understanding of and engagement with the book.

-- 05 Nov 2017, 19:56 --

However, the writing seems hastily put together and focuses more on telling the story than showing it

It can be really challenging to not be able to see the bigger picture of the story that you are reading...

Beautiful review! Thank you for writing this. It really helped me.

I would love to read this book to the kids. This is the first time I have read about ferret as a pet.

My daughter loves animals, so this would probably be a book she would enjoy!

I love the title of this book! As you were discussing some of your critiques, I too was thinking "Oh, the author should have turned this story into several books." Thanks for the well thought out review.

Thank you for your review. Because children's books tend to be short, it gives the author more credit if they are superbly edited.

I think I might peruse this book just for the photos alone. I love ferrets as well. Nice review, L_Therese.

I love this book. However, there is need to improve the content in it for purposes of the children.

You mention dual plot-lines. I'm only getting a sense of one real plot from your review, the search for Coco. What is the other plot? I like how you mentioned the importance of the photographs; for children's novels especially, I absolutely agree with this sentiment.

This book looks SO cute! Thanks for the review!

Loved it

Having photographs instead of drawings makes the book more real to kids. I like the idea of having a ferret as a main character. I think kids, as well as adults, can learn more about them throughout the story. Too bad the author didn't develop the plot more profoundly. Perhaps this can be arranged for the next edition. Thanks for the review!