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Adventures at Pleasant Grove
This is the accompanying Glossary to the Adventures at Pleasant Grove, by Anne Johnstonbrown (under the pseudonym, Lily-Marie Taylor). As the author has included terminology to challenge the middle reader, this Glossary is designed to assist in comprehension, as well as to encourage expansion of the reader's vocabulary.
56 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2015
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October 7, 2015
The illustrations are charming and the basic storyline is really good. The way that the whole story is set up into smaller tales makes this book extremely versatile and time-efficient for both bedtime and class time.
The encouragement of advanced vocabulary is a great idea but in a story that puts so much focus on so many advanced words there needs to be a perfection in the grammar and spelling. The intentional improper use of words doesn't mix well with the difficulty of the vocabulary. Meeses and geeses versus words like cynically and trepidation seem like an overly confusing read for a child. Much to the same point, little things within the story add to confusion, such as "cannot unreckon", a double negative that when simplified reads like "you can count on" but the context in which it is used supports "you can't count on" and "that dye's" being cast. If a "die" had been cast, that is understandable. You can cast a single die in a game of dice, or you can cast metal into a die, but when a cliche like that is used, it is important to use the version of it that has history and can be explained to querying children. While casting dye would be real messy there really isn't any reason why you can't, that just isn't how it is normally used and I don't think the spelling changes the cliche enough to justify making a change at all.(*UPDATE* This has been fixed in the book.)
Some of the more advanced words seem forced and sometimes feel as if they are used at the very edge of their meaning causing them to not quite fit into the story. A few is a good thing to encourage learning but an overabundance of difficulty will lose a child's interest in a hurry and a lot of the forced top dollar words need to be dialed back for the target age group to get more enjoyment from the stories. On a subject that won't lose anyone's interest, I can think of no plausible reason in a children's story for a wedding to be planned between relatives, no matter how distant their kinship might be. Merely thinking of marrying your cousin is still taboo where I come from.
I can't get a good grip on the proper age range for this book. It is either too juvenile or too advanced without much in between. The flow is inconsistent. It is metered in places and then occasionally the metering is chopped up and that made the text read in the same manner, somewhat like an old truck in need of a carburetor adjustment.
Aside from what I feel like is an overuse of difficult vocabulary and some minor infractions that could be used as lessons on what not to say, this book is good for kids both in school and outside of the classroom. The life lessons that the characters portray are excellent and I am glad they have been added to this tale.
On a side note: A cow should not and would not have whinnied under any circumstance. Frankly, this is every bit as bad as "Barnyard" putting an udder on a male bovine.
The encouragement of advanced vocabulary is a great idea but in a story that puts so much focus on so many advanced words there needs to be a perfection in the grammar and spelling. The intentional improper use of words doesn't mix well with the difficulty of the vocabulary. Meeses and geeses versus words like cynically and trepidation seem like an overly confusing read for a child. Much to the same point, little things within the story add to confusion, such as "cannot unreckon", a double negative that when simplified reads like "you can count on" but the context in which it is used supports "you can't count on" and "that dye's" being cast. If a "die" had been cast, that is understandable. You can cast a single die in a game of dice, or you can cast metal into a die, but when a cliche like that is used, it is important to use the version of it that has history and can be explained to querying children. While casting dye would be real messy there really isn't any reason why you can't, that just isn't how it is normally used and I don't think the spelling changes the cliche enough to justify making a change at all.(*UPDATE* This has been fixed in the book.)
Some of the more advanced words seem forced and sometimes feel as if they are used at the very edge of their meaning causing them to not quite fit into the story. A few is a good thing to encourage learning but an overabundance of difficulty will lose a child's interest in a hurry and a lot of the forced top dollar words need to be dialed back for the target age group to get more enjoyment from the stories. On a subject that won't lose anyone's interest, I can think of no plausible reason in a children's story for a wedding to be planned between relatives, no matter how distant their kinship might be. Merely thinking of marrying your cousin is still taboo where I come from.
I can't get a good grip on the proper age range for this book. It is either too juvenile or too advanced without much in between. The flow is inconsistent. It is metered in places and then occasionally the metering is chopped up and that made the text read in the same manner, somewhat like an old truck in need of a carburetor adjustment.
Aside from what I feel like is an overuse of difficult vocabulary and some minor infractions that could be used as lessons on what not to say, this book is good for kids both in school and outside of the classroom. The life lessons that the characters portray are excellent and I am glad they have been added to this tale.
On a side note: A cow should not and would not have whinnied under any circumstance. Frankly, this is every bit as bad as "Barnyard" putting an udder on a male bovine.
Displaying 1 of 1 review