By Simon Barrett
There are as many genres of books as there are readers. Life To The Max is hardly a children's book, yet there are aspects of it that I thought might appeal to the younger reader.
With that in mind, I decided to experiment. I have a niece, Maggie Coulon, she is only 9 years old, but she is smarter than many adults. I asked Maggie to read the book, and here is what she had to say:
What I Think by Maggie Coulon
I think that Life To The Max was a terrific book, but I also think it was sad. The dog was very sweet compared to what the story said, it did not deserve to die. Some people might really like this book or some will think otherwise. I think what was sad is that the dog had a disease, but even more sad Bernie and Max died.
Mom and dad were really sweet to the dogs, even Amber. They didn't care how much the vet cost, plus they got him from a center twice! And if I was an owner I would want to be like them.
About halfway through the book Maggie looked at me and asked, "I wonder who really wrote this book because I know it wasn't the dog."
Did Maggie get it right? She is only 9 years old. Maggie does not know what a maxim is. But she certainly knows good from bad.
Robin Reynolds clearly understands the difference between right and wrong. Life To The Max is one of those books that you pick up, you read, and most importantly you think about it. I give Robin high praise for having the guts, grit and sheer determination to put this book together. Dogs maybe labeled as man's best friend, yet often times they are thrown to the garbage when times get tough.
Life To The Max is a delightful, but maybe too short celebration of our canine friends. My niece may not understand what the word maxim means, she may not understand complex concepts (I'll bet a buck she does), but she does however understand good from bad. It was interesting to get Maggie's input. She is not as worldly wise as us older folks are, yet maybe she brings something to the table that we do not have? I am old and jaded, my views are set in stone.
Author Robin Reynolds has done a fine job with this book, she has had a long and industrious career writing, but I do believe this is her first foray into this kind of book and a very fine job she has done.
Life To The Max should appeal to kids of all ages, I am 52 and I liked it!
You can get your own copy from Amazon, well you can't have mine, I promised Maggie she could have it!
Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.
Source:www.isnare.com |
