Oliver and Jumpy Stories 7-9
By Werner Stejskal
Oliver and Jumpy is wonderful collection of children’s stories featuring Oliver the cat and his cuteand cuddly friends. As an adult, it was strange to read and review a children’s book, being as this was my first one. This review focuses on stories 7-9 of the Oliver & Jumpy Chronicles. It takes us from a fun, lazy snow day during Oliver’s early childhood to a story where Oliver actually hatches and takes care of a baby dragon!
The artwork in this book is phenomenal! As an artist, I wondered how Werner achieved such rich and wondrous color in every beautiful picture! It was easy to tell what was going on in each of the scenes, my favorites being those in the “Egging” story.
My major problem with this set of books is the style of storytelling. Oliver and Jumpy tells a simplistic story, befitting a book for kids, yet it reads like adult prose. I feel that if a kid were able to read this story themselves, they may get lost or bored. I am a firm believer in challenging young minds, but I think it should be done in a way that makes the child feel as if they are engaging in a fun activity. The font size and type were off putting as well. I would have probably gone with word bubbles and kooky font for this type of story.
Enough with the complaints, I liked this book a lot. It made me yearn for my childhood once again. I wanted to get up for Saturday morning cartoons and drink chocolate milk in copious amounts! Of course, that childish whim passed too quickly for me to act upon it, and, again, I was faced with this review. I recommend Oliver and Jumpy to any parents out there looking for something new to read to their kids, but I would recommend you actually READ it to them with voices and animated gestures, just to make up the gaps.
Have fun everyone! Thanks, Werner!
J.B. Maynard