Sami the Magic Bear: A Trip to the Hospital!
by Murielle Bourdon
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Book Length: 30 pages
Genre: Children, Picture Book, Cancer
The graphics in Sami the Magic Bear are gorgeous. They are bright and engaging. While they are not highly detailed that is on purpose and for their style, they are well shaded. The pictures even transfer over well onto the e-ink screen of a Kindle.
The overall book length is fairly good. It is a bit wordy for a book intended for a child as young as five. The writing is average. It is a little choppy in places. There are times where I had to stop and reread sentences because they were not written very well. This was confusing as an adult, this is not acceptable for a children's audience. It could use one more good edit.
The audience of the book is questionable. It states that it is for children between the ages of five to eleven.The title would suggest that the book is geared towards explaining what would happen when they go to a hospital. I expected it to be more of a social story type of book. It is nothing close. Instead, the plot is about a girl who gets diagnosed with leukemia and has an extended stay in the hospital. When she wants to die she ends up getting a magic bear as a gift. The magic bear gives her the strength to live. The topic is a bit too much for a children's book. Yet I also wouldn't say it is appropriate for a child who is actually dealing with cancer. It would not help a child with cancer to identify with another child going through the same situation, there is nothing that would help a child with cancer learn what will happen to them at the hospital. What you have is a book written in an extremely light and whimsical tone that happens to feature a child who wants to give up on life. I was a bit mystified about why this book was written this way. It doesn't really seem appropriate for anyone.
Why the graphics and general premise of the stories are amazing, the writing and execution are not as much. I think Bourdon would really benefit from co-producing with her designing and someone else writing.
**Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review**
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