Simplistic story, but your kids may like it
589216
This anime has a polished look with a relatively high production-quality, but the story was unoriginal and has been done better in many other anime's.  The lead character often does things that do not make sense, which just happens to be exactly what is necessary to push the movie along.  This often leaves the audience puzzled about why that was the right thing to do, or how he might know to do that.  The film was a little simplistic and was clearly designed with a younger crowd, but there was too much time spent on background art and 3D animation scenes and not enough on clearly conveying the story to give this a higher score.
4880239
The family watched The Missing Lynx tonight and overall it was only pretty good.  The story is about a group of animals being sought by a sinister hunter working for a mysterious boss collecting pairs of animals for his nefarious plans.  The animation wasn't very smooth and the overall artistic quality certainly isn't as rich as Pixar or Disney offerings (not surprising given the film's origins from a smaller Spanish studio), but the characters were cute and overall the film is likable.  The dialogue and writing weren't strong and the unfolding of the narrative was a bit clumsy, especially early on.  My 5 year old son enjoyed the movie just fine but it wasn't nearly as entertaining for dad as recent releases like Despicable Me or Toy Story 3.  A passable flick for the kids to enjoy and worth a rental, but not one we're likely to re-visit often.
719858
DIXIE tells the story of an aspiring actress and the dog who almost keeps her from achieving her dream. This is a cute book with standard "I can read" type pictures--nothing special but they are easy for a kid to follow. While the "I can read" label is here, I am not sure that some of the words in the book and the content is necessarily easy reading, particularly for a child who is not familiar with the story of THE WIZARD OF OZ. A young child's experience with the book depends, in part, on the perspective they take as a reader. The story's complexity paradoxically appealing and distracting.

FROM EMMA'S PERSPECTIVE: Emma just got the starring role in her school play. She is going to play Dorothy in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Unfortunately for Emma, Dixie (her dog) has a different idea. Due to his selfishness, Dixie tries to sabotage Emma's studying of the script and goes so far as to hide the ruby slippers leading to Emma's emotional panic attack and near breakdown. It is only when Emma decides to let Dixie share the spotlight that the dog relents and gives Emma some space. This is a tale of forgiveness.

FROM DIXIE'S PERSPECTIVE: Why would Emma just cut Dixie out of her life without warning? Dogs need routines, and Dixie had one until that stupid script. "Hey, Emma, play with me," Dixie seemed to say. After all, that's what Emma did. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (Until now, that is). What could she possibly be doing? She's reading words on a piece of paper. Emma has become a primadonna. Well, Dixie might as well just ride this one out. Emma might perform well enough at the school play, but she's just going to wait tables in Hollywood later in life waiting for her big break. As long as Dixie is getting fed, then he can just observe and wag his tail kindly as if to say, "I believe in you," while thinking, "You should have taken the hint when I stole that ruby slipper."

Indeed, this is a rich story that deserves a sequel.
783711
I was happy enough with the text of this book, which I read aloud to my 9 yo and 7 yo, and my 11 yo read independently, as part of our history curriculum.  I felt it was dragged down a bit though by the pictures, which are just okay, but nothing special  They're rather stark in appearance (relatively minimal backgrounds, somewhat limited color selection), and I prefer more realistic, life-like illustrations.  I felt it was a decent book for older kids, but that more engaging illustrations would make it easier to keep the interest of younger children listening as the story is read aloud and thus make the book more versatile.
863310
The story line, though earns a few laughter, is unoriginal and not much substance.  There is really no life lesson to teach your children.  Illustrations are not great either.  We got it at a big discount or else we probably would have returned it.
3199888
Book came in good condition, although the story itself is less than idea. Doesn't rhyme, which I was hoping for, and the examples used are not very smart. That being said, my 2 and 4 year old like it just fine.
3774122
Cute story but it could have been written so that it is a little more fun to read. No rhyming, no child involvement...
2426286
My 4 year old daughter is quite interested in this book but doesn't really like it. She keeps hoping, (I think) that there is more too it.

The joy in this book is that it is all about rhymes, nureau's in the bureau, tellar, sellar, bellar etc in the cellar and so on. Which is a nice early rhyme style story - learning about sounds and I guess you could say the texture and rules of language. However the story is almost pointless. Some of these animals are good and some aren't - but it is difficult to tell while - the Nofa on the Sofa is apparently an animal he doesn't like, but it just appears to be reading a book quietly.

I found the illustrations a bit unsatisfying as well. They are in colour, but when I compare them to the glorious detail of Horton Hatches an Egg (which is only coloured in three colours) then the Wocket in the Pocket does not match by any stretch of the imagination.

It is a simple easy story to rattle off at bedtime, it teaches rhyme but it doesn't inspire my children.
4285800
I borrowed this book because the title and cover looked interesting and the story was a sweet little moral, but that is about all.
The illustrations are cute and the story is ok, but it is nothing special.
3882586
Author Werner Stejskal has written nearly 50 children's stories about Oliver the tomcat and his best friend, Jumpy, all published as e-books. The book containing stories 43-45 was my first encounter with his work. As always with kids' books, I read them aloud to my kids (2.5 and 5 next week!) because I feel like an adult-only review of a children's book is just silly - of course, it matters what I think as a mother, but it's essential to see a kid's reaction to a book in order to really judge its worth. So, one day I sat down on my bed with my kids and my Kindle and we read the stories. Here's a brief synopsis of each story:

Story #43, Flying Carpet: Oliver and Jumpy travel to Africa (probably Egypt, given the references to the pyramids and the sphinx) to rescue a princess in trouble. When they get there, they're given a magic, flying carpet that takes them exactly where they need to go to help the princess meet her prince.

Story #44, Birthday Party: Oliver's friends throw him a surprise birthday party, with paid singers, elephant rides, and a mud-ball fight. He thinks it's the best birthday ever!

Story #45, Magic Berries: Jumpy eats magic berries that change his size. In order to change back to normal, he has to complete a quest without succumbing to any of the temptations along the way: free ice cream, hot dogs, and soft drinks.

All in all, I was underwhelmed by the books. They were fine - they're short, and engaging enough, but I feel like (except for maybe #45) they generally lack a message. I like to learn from what I read, and I like the same for my kids. I also don't particularly care for how often Oliver points out how well-known he is... sort of a "look how great I am!" attitude that I don't particularly want my kids to adopt. On the plus side, the illustrations pair really well with the stories, which is really nice, and the stories are generally harmless entertainment.

What did the kids think? It's hard to tell. Honestly, I think they were much more interested in getting to "turn the page" on my Kindle than they were in the stories. I'm not sure if that's just because they'd never used a Kindle before (I never let them touch it!), but they also have never asked me about the stories again (not even to have a chance to touch the Kindle again). So, I'd say their verdict is pretty similar to mine.

So, three stars. Generally fine, nothing to rave about but not bad, either. That said, I don't think I'm a fan of e-books for young kids. Maybe I'll change my mind as my five-year-old gets older and reads more on her own, but for now...we'll stick to paper.

*This book is currently available on Amazon for free. I obtained my free copy of the book for the purpose of reviewing, at the request of the author.
4956287
As an elementary teacher, II read stories to school kids; they adored the first book and went around singing the "LULU" song for several days after.  Some even got their parents to order a personal copy.  This one is ok, a little more preachy (good child/bad child).  Does not seem so funny or outrageous in Lulu's behavior.  They loved the super-bratty Lulu of the first book better.  I edited my oral reading by marking out portions of the Brontosaurus book where it got a little repetitious.  The Dog walker Lulu doesn't seem to repeat quite so much, which is a plus.  I plan to keep using this story.  Grades one through possibly grade three should like it.  It probably takes two sessions to finish either one of these.  It's almost like a pre-chapter book with very short chapters.
3970729
This is a cute story about a porcupine that has an inferiority complex about his quills because some other animals at school tease him about them.  His friends help him see how his quills make him special and why he's perfect just the way it is.  My kids liked the story (4  and 2 ) but it's not one they specifically pick out when we have story time.  They pull other favorites off the shelf.

I think it's a fine book, but I'm not personally a big fan of questions at the end of books that are supposed to generate dialogue with your children.  Maybe this book is supposed to be used as therapy books or something, but I don't recommend it for fun light reading, which is what happens at bed time around our house.
2698211
Meh, My kids liked it for a moment....did not keep their interest.
4188342
This is a cute story from a parents point of view but it only a few spots hold child's attention . Kids miss the point.
4299087
A very simple story suitable for young children (6-8).  It tells the story of a family moving across the country during the gold rush.  It does provide some history of life in the 1800's.  I mention young readers because children today are more sophisticated and might find this story a little too simplistic.  I would have liked to see a little more description of the sights the children saw during their journey and I feel the section where the parents told the children to run away prior to the attack was unrealistic.  We are talking about an undeveloped environment in which to find 2 lost children after the chaos of the attack.  I'm sure children who like this story will be waiting for the next installment.  I was provided with a free copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
2421800
This little story is betwixt and between -- too simple and unscientific for adults, and perhaps too strong for children.

Carrier or homing pigeons simply do not choose their home locations and they do not hunt down their owners by flying around until they find them, or scent them out like bloodhounds.  After Henry's owner/handler is kidnapped, Henry is all over the district flying messages back and forth from her in an attempt to save her.  I like the story, but if Henry is going to be a supernatural character, the story should be rewritten for children with Henry being an avian superhero.  And perhaps the gambling and shooting could be handled differently.

There were minor grammatical things, the most prominent to me being the use of "drug" as the past tense for "drag" (dragged!).

Ultimately, the story is about love and loyalty between the humans and the birds.  That's a great message for children, and I hope to see the story adapted someday.

-- Java Davis
1505412
This book was okay, it was not anything great, but the story was somewhat cute. It was worth the penny that I paid for it but no more. Many of the words would be hard to pronounce for a child under ten years old. It was a Chinese/Buddhist story that I am not sure a child would understand. That being said I do not think anyone over fourteen would even enjoy it, unless they were reading it to a child and then they would probably have to explain everything to that child. It had a slight moral to the story, but unless you looked hard to find one, it was just a cute mythological story. It was not a "superhero tale of China" China wasn't even really mentioned in the book, and the monkey wasn't much of a superhero! Overall, it was a cute book that you might have to read a few times to understand.