Negative Positive
Title: Not amusing for the target audience
Review: The story background here should provide an imaginative tale...a medieval family, alchemy, and a shrinking brother. But the actual story line won't amuse children from the age of 4 - 8. The problem with the book is a somewhat mean-spirited story and it's rather dull unfolding. Some other reviewers on this page were amused and even flattered by Steig's 'respect' for his audience's intellectual curiosity insofar as he uses an advanced vocabulary in the story. Permit me to ask you. Would the early reader in your family go to the dictionary when he encounters 'big' words on each page? Would his attention hold, if 50% of the book had to be explained by an adult because it was obscure to him... and uninteresting besides?
Is the review positive or negative? 