Official Review: Ringo and the guardians of the waterfall

[Annelore Trujillo]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Ringo and the guardians of the waterfall" by Eve Vermazen.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Ringo and the Guardians of the Waterfall by Eve Vermazen is a children’s book about a dog named Ringo. Ringo is a very brave Jack Russell Terrier. Because of his bravery, Ringo is given an important task to complete. Legend has it that there is a hidden waterfall that is guarded by six rocks. These rocks are really monks that decided it was important to protect the waterfall. When anything threatens this waterfall, these rocks wake up and become humans again. Ringo’s friend Sam, also known as the wise one, sends him on a mission to find out why the Guardians of the waterfall are suddenly waking up. What’s harming the waterfall? Can Ringo find out what it is and stop it before the Guardians finish waking up?

The illustrations in this book were beautiful. I really liked that they were more abstract than most pictures in children’s books. I loved them, but I wish they had matched up with the story a little better. I read this book in a digital format, so every other page consisted of an illustration. I’m assuming that the text and picture would be seen side-by-side in a print version of the book. It would have been nice to be able to see the pictures and text together in the digital version as well, especially because I really enjoyed these pictures.

I liked Ringo’s story and the legend of the waterfall in this book. I thought that it was an interesting idea. The underlying message of protecting the environment is an important one for children to learn. With this plot and message, this book could have been excellent for children. However, the writing needs a little bit of work. The recommended age group for this book was 8 to 12. Unfortunately, I don’t think that this particular age group would have been able to follow the book that well. I read the book twice because I struggled a little bit. I kept getting lost because a lot of the descriptions were long-winded, but they were about things that weren’t necessary to complete the story. This doesn’t normally bother me. However, the story also lacked explanations for some of the more important ideas.

The editing and formatting of this book could also use some work. Some of the errors included improper word usage, run-on sentences, and incorrect formatting of many of the paragraphs. These errors were distracting. They might also make the book difficult to read out loud, and I probably wouldn’t give this book to a child because of the number of errors.

I went back and forth quite a bit on the rating of this book, but I finally decided to give it 2 out of 4 stars. I thought it had a good story to it and could potentially be a great book. The message was good, and I loved the illustrations. However, the writing, editing, and formatting could all use work. The amount of work needed was enough for me to drop the rating by two stars. Although, I probably would have given it 2.5 stars if I could. Even as written, parents could read it to their children if they’re willing to look past the errors.

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Ringo and the guardians of the waterfall
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[Mercelle]

Despite the drawbacks, the cover is quite artistic. At least the illustrator didn't sleep on the job.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

I like the title of the book, it fits in really well with the summary you gave. Its a real pity about all the errors in the book though.

[kandscreeley]

If you were getting lost, I'm sure the kids would get lost. It's a good message, though. I also like the main character. This one sounds like an equal mix of good and bad. Hopefully the author will make a few changes. Thanks.

[Shir Altman]

the book is very inresting but I got lost

[KlareAllison]

Eve Vermazen's Ringo and the Guardians of the Waterfall has a storyline that could fascinate the average child. It will be interesting to know if Ringo succeeds in finding out what is harming the waterfall. It's regretable that the editing and formatting of the book attracted a 2 Stars rating.

[Lincolnshirelass]

I would like to read this - not least because I once had a dog called Ringo! He wasn't a Jack Russel but a Griffon, however, I think the temperament is similar!

[Mary Garrison]

Sounds like a fun story. I hope some children will still be able to enjoy it despite the mistakes.

[MsTri]

Sounds like an interesting and novel idea. Too bad the formatting and grammatical errors made it a chore to read.

[Gunnar Ohberg]

I enjoyed your review very much. These books are so frustrating to me: why, oh why, oh why, oh why do writers choose to waste the time of their readers by presenting stories with so many obvious and easily amended flaws? There are enough painful books out there that at least adhere to the basic rules of grammar and spelling without authors further tarnishing the literary world with sloppy, careless, childish, ignorant mistakes.

[Lay668]

I love reading children books. The detailed review you wrote make the story interesting and fun to read. Thank you so much for a great review and pointing out the mistakes and errors in the book. I think best for parents to read this book to their kids instead of the kid read it themselves where the parents can create a better words and scenerio to kids instead of the errors.

[Fairyland1010]

It seems like a good book and I like the cover. I hope Ringo finds out what’s going on. Thanks for the review.