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Boobela and Worm Ride the Waves by Joe Friedman (view source)
Revision as of 13:40, 25 March 2010
, 13:40, 25 March 2010no edit summary
The illustrations are just lovely, in colour throughout and really bring the story to life. The ideas behind the story seemed to have a lot of promise too, with lots of opportunities to be funny with this enormous giant girl and her wormy best friend. Yet I was left disappointed as it felt like the story never quite got to where it could have. Since I haven't read any of Boobela's previous adventures perhaps that has an effect on my opinions, but still there wasn't the flow that I like when reading, as if there had originally been more to these stories but it had been cut out, and it felt like wasted potential. And as I mentioned before, I ran into questions when I didn't really know what was going on in the story. The whole book could have stood being much longer, with a lot more detail to it, but then it wouldn't be an 'in-between' sort of book any more.
There is a rather dramatic moment in the underground caving story where a little boy Boobela has befriended falls into a river. His brother saves him but they are both soaked through and begin to worry about what will happen to them. After discussing their situation one of the boys says '''Think about it...By the time any rescuers get here, it would be too late. My stupid mistake is going to kill us.''' This comes up rather suddenly and unexpectedly in what is otherwise a gentle adventure story, and I was surprised that an early reader's book would have such a dark moment in it. Of course they end up being fine because Boobela uses some of her 'special magic' to warm them up and then helps them escape the caves but still, I was a little surprised at the tone in that section of the story.
On the other hand there is a nice little story about Boobela's friend Nurgul who has grown very quiet and sad of late, and Boobela asks her Uncle Neill to help her find out what's wrong with her. They discover that she is worried by her parents arguing, and after talking it over they are able to help Nurgul resolve the situation. This felt like a positive 'talking it over can help' tale. I suppose the caving story might also allow young children to discuss their fears about accidents and death, but I still thought it felt out of place.