Official Review: The Adventures of Finley and Cisco

[Juliana_Isabella]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Adventures of Finley and Cisco" by Lisa Ozalis-Graham.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Adventures of Finley and Cisco by Lisa Ozalis-Graham is a children’s picture book about standing up to bullying. Finley is a young fish who moved from Lake Erie to Lake Superior. The other fish in Lake Superior make fun of him because he has needed a safety pin to hold his dorsal fin to his body ever since a hook got stuck in his fin. His friend, Camie, is a fish who migrated to Lake Superior from the ocean and can change color to match her surroundings. Both Camie and Finley have trouble fitting in, but Cisco, a friend and Lake Superior native befriends them both. When other fish at Lake Superior School are picking on Finley, Cisco must step in and teach them the right way to treat other fish (and people too).

I really appreciated the professional feel of this book. The illustrations are wonderful and cover whole pages with colorful pictures of Finley and his friends. I also noticed that the book seems to be constructed better than others I’ve reviewed, and I only found one error in the whole story, making me think that the author hired a professional editor. Beyond this, the author clearly put thought into the story, including fun acronyms for kids that will surely help them remember the lessons that Finley and Cisco are teaching about standing up for friends when they are bullied.

My only real complaint about this book is that the conflict is resolved very quickly. Cisco stands up to the bullies, and they basically back off immediately and feel bad about what they’ve done. There’s even an odd section with the bullies asking Cisco if he would ever help them if they were in need. Since this book is trying to teach life lessons, I don’t think it’s helpful to make the bullies unrealistic, and I don’t think that most school bullies would just immediately admit they were wrong and apologize for being mean.

Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I loved the illustrations and writing, but the resolution of the conflict feels hasty, and I think that detracts from the message the author is trying to get across.

I would recommend this book to parents of kids ages four to seven. I think it would be especially useful for teachers and parents of kids who are being bullied in school. Hopefully, even kids who are doing the bullying will recognize themselves in this book and realize that they need to change.

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The Adventures of Finley and Cisco
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Nath_chuks]

This is a sure way to help children understand that bullying each other is bad. I agree with you on the unrealistic display of bullies. Great review

[Rodel Barnachea]

This book has a great theme: bullying. Unfortunately, the author made the bullies unrealistic. I agree with you for the most part. Great review!

[Misty20058]

They should definitely make this a must read at primary schools to try and combat bullying. Thanks for the insightful review.

[Priyanka2304]

I think the author has done a wonderful job in presenting this issue in this children's book. Bullying really needs to have a classroom discussion. Thanks for your review of this book.

[kljrox]

I think the idea is great, but I agree that making the bullies unrealistic can confuse a child and will hurt the message this is trying to bring. Thank you for the honest and insightful review.

[Valkyrie9]

Bullying is a something that affects almost every child in some way or another. It sounds as though this book has found a really cute way to address this issue and teach children the right way to treat others, even if they are different to them. Thanks for the great review!

[baha Ibrahim]

This book is an easy read for my toddler and kindergartener. It has a wonderful lesson that the kids picked up quickly.

Thanks for the great review

[Summerpie05]

KidS learn that bullying is not good and if you see someone is being bullied you should tell someone right away.

[Ify_Reviewer]

I think the author wants to communicate that bullies can change. They don't have to remain bullies for long. Thanks for the review.

[Luluwa79]

Change is a matter of choice. It was the choice of the bullies to change quickly.
Thanks for the summary and review.

[Sissy01]

when you see someone getting bullied you go tell someone or you try to help that person