Official Review: All About A Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark

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Annelore Trujillo
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Official Review: All About A Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark

Post by Annelore Trujillo »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "All About A Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark" by Ann Marie Hannon.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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All About a Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark is a children’s story written by Ann Marie Hannon. Just before Patrick turns two years old, he wakes up one night and realizes that he is afraid of the dark. This is the first time that he has woken up in the middle of the night without his nightlight on. It’s an even scarier experience because it is the first time he has been afraid without his parents. Usually, they fix it for him; this time he is alone. When he starts to cry, his sister shows up. Will she be able to save the night?

This was a cute idea for a children’s book. I really enjoyed the story that was told and the message that was portrayed. I think the book would be a great way to introduce teamwork to children. The characters in the story were five and two, so children could definitely relate to them. I also thought that Patrick’s fear of the dark was a fear that many young children share, which is a great way to get them into the story. It would be a great teaching book for preschool-aged kids.

While I liked the story, I didn’t like the writing. For one, the sentences were overly complex for a kid’s book. A little bit of complexity is good, and it can be a great teaching tool for kids. However, this book went too far with it. The sentences dragged on, and they would be difficult for children to read. On top of the complexity, many of the sentences weren’t properly punctuated. I believe that it is essential that children’s books don’t contain errors, so the incorrect punctuation really bothered me. The wording was also repetitive. For example, one sentence used “then” at both the beginning and end of the sentence when it really only needed to be used once. There were also other words and phrases that were unnecessarily repeated.

One of the biggest disappointments with the book was that it would go several pages without any pictures. As an adult, I don’t mind the lack of pictures. Children, however, are going to be wondering where all the pictures are. I read to my God-children all the time, and they are constantly asking to see the pictures. I really enjoyed the illustrations that were there, but I would have liked to see more of them.

I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I did like the story, which is why I didn’t give it one star. However, the writing really brought the book down for me. It is important that children see proper grammar and good writing when they are reading. They are very impressionable, and the literature they read is a huge influence on their academic development. I just can’t give the book more than 2 stars because I would not want my God-children to read it on their own as it is currently written. I might recommend it to parents who are willing to read the book out loud, but I wouldn’t recommend it to kids who want to read it alone due to the writing and errors.

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All About A Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark
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420waystoreachthesun
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Post by 420waystoreachthesun »

It is rather unfortunate that the writing was bad. I really look for good children's stories.
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Laura Ungureanu
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Post by Laura Ungureanu »

I am glad you are this harsh with the book. It is very important what literature our children read and it can leave a big impact on them. I wouldn't want my children to read a book with grammar mistakes. Maybe this can be fixed with some editing. Thank you for the review!
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Post by Ginnamassa19 »

Aw. I thought the premise of the story was hilariously relatable (who wasn't afraid of the dark when they were kids? XD) but it doesn't seem like a book I'd pick up--the language errors and lack of pictures is kind of a dealbreaker.

Thank you for writing this review--it was very thoughtful and I found it helpful! :)
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Post by gen_g »

Thank you for the thoughtful review - it is a pity that it fell short of your expectations.
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Post by DathanReeves »

It sounds like the author had a passion to write for children but didn't have the tutoring to understand child psychology.
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Post by cpru68 »

I see this said so many times when it comes to children's books that the content is not accurate for the demographic it is geared toward. I think people think that writing a children's book can be an easy way to make a profit forgetting that word choice, punctuation and all of the things you mentioned be tip top because we educate our young ones by reading to them. It sounds like the main character being only 2 might be a bit too young. I have a 2 1/2 year old energetic grandchild that would not even sit yet to have me read to him. Maybe if the main character was a little older, say 4, then it would go along a little better. But, the grammatical errors and writing sounds like it needs a clean up job. Thank you for this review. I am always on the hunt for good children's books.
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Post by Jackie Holycross »

It’s too bad there weren’t more pictures. That is so important to children.
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Post by Libs_Books »

Good review. It sounds as though the author started out with a great idea but wasn't able to meet the expectations of the genre.
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Cristina Chifane
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

I have studied children's literature as well as children's literature translation and I know how important it is for children's books to be both educational and entertaining. The premise of this book is definitely a good one, but the technical errors are unacceptable. Maybe the author could think of adjusting his writing style to the appropriate age group and be much more careful when it comes to editing and illustrations. Thanks for your review!
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Post by Gmdiamzon 2 »

I have a child who is afraid in the dark like what the story tell. I think i can read this to him if the story has more positive ideas how to conquer his fears so that my child would copy it. Maybe tha reviews seems bad but i want to give it a try.
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