Although it took a while to read (because we only had a short time each day) kiddo really enjoyed this book. Below are my questions and his answers, along with my commentary in italics.1. Did you like this book? Yes. It is a very good book. Good to learn how to become a wizard, which I've always wanted to do. Me too kiddo, me too.
2. What was your favorite part of the book? When they showed about the dragon. Why? Because dragons are very cool and I've seen one, it's called a Hungarian Horntail. Hmm, do you think we watch Harry Potter much at our house?
3. What was your least favorite part? I don't have a least favorite part. Except that they didn't tell us if Dumbledore was Merlin's friend. Ah, Harry Potter references again ...
4. What did you think of the illustrations? That would be a MAJOR WINNER. The dragon illustration was awesome.
5. Would you recommend this book to your friends? If they want to become wizards.
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On the whole, this is a fine book for kids interested in magic. It talks a bit about the various magical traditions around the world (from India to China to Western Europe and many other places) and includes info on several magical creatures. There is a list of supplies required for all apprentice wizards too. But perhaps most importantly for kids there are repeated warnings that magic should only be used to help other people, not to harm anyone or get things for yourself. Kiddo has a wild imagination - as many other kids do - and I appreciate that even fantastical books like this remind him to reign in that imagination and to use it for good.
As a side note, this book sparked a discussion of the difference between an "epilogue" and an "appendix" in a book. I love when I can teach kiddo little things like that.
3 comments:
I think my son would have enjoyed this book when he was younger, too.
I love all of the "ology" books. My daughter has many of the fairy ones and now the mermaid ones and I just think they are magical and very well done.
This was one of the only things my 8yo asked for for Christmas, and she really loves it. She and her sister set up a wizard's study like in the book, and were very creative with their ingredients (googly eyes for eye of newt, for example) and had all kinds of fun. It is a fun book to read together because it's more of a joint exploration than simply reading a narrative. I'm glad you and your son enjoyed it as much as we did!
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