Official Review: Lua the Llama and the Mountain of Joy

Post by **bookowlie** » 12 Apr 2018, 19:02

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Lua the Llama and the Mountain of Joy" by Alison Birks.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Lua the Llama and the Mountain of Joy is a children’s book written by Alison Birks and illustrated by Linda Weston. It is suitable for children of all ages, but seems most appropriate for ages 5-8. Lua is a young llama who lives in the Andes Mountains in Peru. One night she has a dream in which a rainbow-colored llama tells her she is much more than just a llama. Lua asks her parents what this means, and they advise her to visit a wise, old healer named don Paqo to get some answers.

I enjoyed this short, inspiring book. Children will be able to learn about universal lessons passed down from the Andean people, such as love, balance, wisdom, and service. I think it’s important for children to learn about different cultures and this story is a fun way to become familiar with Andean teachings. The themes of being part of something larger than your individual self and being connected with the universe are explained in an easy-to-understand way.

Numerous Andean words are used throughout the story. The author has included a helpful glossary at the end of the book. However, young readers might still find it frustrating to stop and look up so many unfamiliar words while reading.

Linda Weston’s colorful illustrations are beautiful and strike a soft tone for this spiritual story. One minor gripe I have is there are not enough pictures and many of them are very small. There will often be a few pages between illustrations; in one case, there are five pages of text before the next picture appears. I think it would have been helpful to include more illustrations to enhance the story and give young readers extra visual clues.

I spotted approximately four errors, including missing punctuation at the end of dialogue and a word that is capitalized in the middle of a sentence. The errors are fairly noticeable, particularly in such a short book. I think it’s especially important for children’s books to be carefully edited so that kids are shown examples of correct grammar. Also, the text is center-justified which is a little distracting. Although this style is a matter of taste, I found the text harder to follow in this format.

I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The errors prevent me from awarding the highest rating. Still, it’s always a plus when a children’s book can educate as well as entertain. This story would be a perfect choice for storytime at school as it can jump-start a discussion about other cultures.

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Lua the Llama and the Mountain of Joy
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victoriareads2018 · Post by **victoriareads2018** » 13 Apr 2018, 07:27

Great review! I too think that it is especially important for children's books to use correct grammar. The young ones learn from reading these books so correct grammar and spelling should be top priority.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 13 Apr 2018, 07:57

I agree with you about errors in a children's book. Still, the illustrations sound wonderful. I myself would love to learn about the Andes culture and what this book has to say. I am unsure about all the foreign words, but perhaps an adult could help the children to figure these out better without them getting so frustrated. Thanks, again, for another lovely review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 13 Apr 2018, 08:01

A kids' book revolving around a young llama's dream sounds cute. I like books that combine a great tale with universal lessons. A pity about the errors. I agree that it is important for children’s books to be well edited. Hopefully, the author will fix it. It was helpful of the author to add glossary at the end of the book, though using footnotes instead night have worked better. Thank you for the great review!

Post by **Mr Benj** » 13 Apr 2018, 10:11

Wow

, I would like to learn about these lessons of wisdom, love,balance and especially service. I hope a get chance to go through the book too.
Thanks .

Yours sincerely,
Mr Benji.

Cristina Chifane · Post by **Cristina Chifane** » 13 Apr 2018, 12:15

I loved your idea about using the book as a starter for a discussion about other cultures. In this way, children will also learn to be more tolerant. Besides, I know they are always fascinated with different customs and traditions. The author may consider your advice on the illustrations and grammar. Thank you!

cpru68 · Post by **cpru68** » 13 Apr 2018, 14:12

What an interesting book for young ones. I like that the culture is included along with moral lessons, and that children are given the message to look deeper than themselves for how they fit into the world. Most kids, just by nature, are ego driven, so they have to have good teaching on how to view other people as just as special as they are. I like your review in that you did point out the errors, and like you said, you can't just let it pass as a children's book is supposed to be a 'role' model for those who are just learning to read and write properly. I think this book would also be good for those who have a lineage in that culture and to share it with their friends. I enjoyed this one so much! Thank you.

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Apr 2018, 19:48

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my review.

There are too many errors, but they are noticeable. Besides, a published book should have no errors, particularly a short book with only a few sentences on each page. Kandscreeley - there is a glossary that explains the meaning of the Andean words. Still, it interrupts the flow of the story if you have to keep stopping to look up a word. Cpru68 - I always smile when I see the Santa hat in your profile! I agree it's good for children to see how they connect with something larger than themeselves.

Losernormajean · Post by **Losernormajean** » 14 Apr 2018, 01:44

Miss punctuation and some grammer issues but I love how you say it's good for childeren to connect with something bigger than they are

Libs_Books · Post by **Libs_Books** » 18 Apr 2018, 14:47

bookowlie wrote: ↑12 Apr 2018, 19:02 This story would be a perfect choice for storytime at school as it can jump-start a discussion about other cultures.

Good suggestion - as is the one about parents and children sharing. It does sound rather wonderful, pity about the pictures and the errors.

crediblereading2 · Post by **crediblereading2** » 18 Apr 2018, 18:05

I am feeling so pleased just reading your review of this children's book of fun and knowledge. The idea of the llama having a dream and being told that she is more than just a llama is very fascinating.

Post by **Eileen R** » 19 Apr 2018, 10:35

I agree that children's books shouldn't have so many grammatical errors. The reason being that such books too short to harbor so many mistakes. Authors should take more care and edit their books accordingly.