Candy and the Cankersaur by Jason Sandberg, YR, 2012, PDF eARC,32p, Rating: 3.5
Source: provided by author in exchange for an honest review
Per author: As a bedtime story Picture Book it’s aimed for children ages 3-6. As a read-alone Picture Book it’s appropriate for children ages 6-9.
This is the sweet and funny tale of a young girl named Candy and her Cankersaurus Rex! Candy receives a dinosaur as a gift and is determined to train him to be a good pet. This playful homage to Syd Hoff will make all dinosaur-crazy boys and girls happy.Find Book: Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | Nook
I really liked the illustrations. It was happy and easy on the eyes. Moreover, the story started off great with a tone that alluded to a moral message. It starred a Richie Rich-like protagonist, Candice Wellesley Wellington, Candy for short. Candy's father was often found too busy to spend time with her so his solution was to shower Candy with rare toys to keep her busy. One day, Mr. Wellington even managed to find a dinosaur ..yep, Cankersaur Rex, for Candy. Sweet young Candy of course wanted to train Cank (nickname she called him) to be nice and not bite. Top that with a jealous boy (Chucky) next door vying for Candy’s attention and you’ve rounded up an interesting crew and potential learning story. However, the ending didn't wow me as I'd hoped. It was a cute and happy ending but something was off. Perhaps it wrapped up too quickly and neat and the moral message didn't quite flow with the note that I sensed in the beginning of the book. My 6yo daughter (she read this too) must have sensed something also because when I asked her how much she liked it, she said it was "in the middle".
The best part of the story that I liked was when Candy's father took the time to help Candy and Chucky find Cank. It was a moment that a parent can pause to point out to his child that Candy's father really does love Candy and took time for her. I suppose I wanted that same greatness for the ending, instead it ended with a different sort of goodness.
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I'm a Fine Artist who also wants to produce the "missing books" from my childhood, the books I wished I'd had.
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