OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Ugo’s Fantastic African Voyage" by Chris Woodard.]

Ugo’s Fantastic African Voyage describes one boy’s struggle against bullying. The kids in Ugo’s class make fun of his name, simply because it stands out among their own. This causes him to lash out against his parents, and wish that he was more like his classmates. That’s when Ugo meets Khalil, a boy who looks and talks just like Ugo! Khalil gives him a magic pebble that takes him on a journey to Africa. In his home country, Ugo sets off on a path of self-discovery as he learns that his heritage not only defines who he is, but is also what makes him unique and special.

From reading this story, kids will get the opportunity to learn how their words impact others. Other’s words have the ability to penetrate a person’s innermost thoughts, and can leave them feeling dejected and upset. Ugo describes how his classmate’s insults deeply affect him, even causing him to dread waking up for school everyday. Khalil enters to act as a contrast to his friend’s harsh words. Instead of bring Ugo down, Khalil uplifts him, and immediately Ugo’s spirits soar. In this way, kids will be able to see how encouraging words can have a positive impact on their friends. With Khalil’s help, Ugo learns that if he just lets his bullies’ words go in one ear and out the other, they will have no power over him.

The illustrations in Ugo’s Fantastic African Voyage are very bright and colorful; however, I wish that there were more of them among its pages. Some of the paragraphs seem rather long for a kid’s book which could discourage a young audience from reading it. That being said, I think that the pictures accurately represent the beauty of Africa as well as its culture.

While reading, I was distracted by an excessive amount of spelling, spacing, and grammatical errors. Many of the same errors were repeated several times. Because of the abundant mistakes, I feel that this book should receive 2 out of 4 stars.

Ugo’s Fantastic African Voyage highlights African heritage while emphasizing that it is okay for children to be different and stand out among their peers. Kids will not only learn how to keep their bullies’ words from having an effect on them, but may also be inspired to stand up for others as well. I believe that many young children could benefit from reading this mystical and unique story.

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Ugo’s Fantastic African Voyage
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What a lovely concept, and it sounds from your review like it was done very well, and effectively! It’s never too early to teach kids that differences are okay. What a shame about the typos, but perhaps the author can go back and correct them. Thank you for your review!

I enjoyed reading your review of Ugo's Fantastic African Voyage. Although I am a senor, I liked it so well that It made me want to read this book and see the beautiful pictures. I liked the moral of this story and I believe that our youth of today need to read many books like this so they know how to deal with bullying. Your review was very thorough by including the spelling and grammatical flaws. You were honest.

Thanks for such an enthusiastic review - it seems a great pity that the book has so many errors when it would otherwise have so much to offer.

It's too bad that there are so many mistakes because this is a theme we could all do with hearing much more about. The illustrations are nice, but, again, it's too bad that there aren't as many as there should be for a children's book. Thanks for the review, though.

Bullying is certainly a valid topic for children's literature, but I believe good grammar is a far more important element in any children's book. I'm also not sure I buy into the idea that culture "defines" us (although I freely admit it influences us greatly!), so I will pass on this book. Thank you for the review.

I really love the African theme to this book. It's wonderful because when I was growing up in Kenya, I always read western children books since we really didn't have that many authors writing children books based on African characters.