Little story development
594396
After getting the first book for free I paid for this one and was sorely disappointed. Very little story development and not worth the money. The author has just lost me relative to picking up the other books in the series.
2261062
It is interesting to compare and combine the different stories, told by each character. Tiny treasures glisten, lighting the way back to the plot. You almost feel home. Each generation of ideas grow and strengthen, providing the history, present and future of a story told well .
690280
Not since Doctor Seuss has there been a more creative use of rhyme in telling a story. The Little Rocker's Club introduces kids to instruments and the characters who play them. A great way to interest your little one  into wanting to learn to play for themself.
2777660
The author tells us what fun and mischief a little monkey brings into family life. In little stories, the daily events are told with great respect to the animal.
462557
The Little Dog is a philosophical story that makes one think about evil and punishment, of karma. It tells the story of Stan Blackman through the narrative of Bill Armstrong.

What I liked: It is a simple tale, told with passion and emotion. The story flows smoothly. Despite long musings on good and evil, the little book, at no point, seems boring. It contains some beautiful descriptions of nature too.

What I wasn't comfortable with: Blackman is discussed as bad company, a bully, and progressively evil. However, the characterisation is 2-dimensional and we don't get a full picture - only what Bill relays from his own experience and from what others have told him. Also, the reason why the triple murder was committed is not talked about. That leaves a gap in both the narrative and characterisation of Blackman. If someone had found out something about Blackman's past it would have added to the human element of the story. It would have made for a bit of psychological study as well as a moral study. But then again, maybe that's something the author did not want - to turn it into a psychological case study rather than the mysterious case of retribution that it is right now.

A slightly annoying point was that there were too many looooong sentences in the book. Some are a little clumsy to read because by the time you reach the end of the sentence, you've forgotten what it started with.
3533767
Make sure you buy the companion, Sound Targeting Storybook. These little books are very basic, graphics wise---very desktop publishing circa 1990s. But, content wise McGuinness is a pro. I'm going to see how well her approach works.
1204555
Hello, I like this story so far.  I don't like that it is broken down into a bunch of semi short stories.  Thanks.
3295786
Enjoyed the concept behind this story, and it seems to be a nice set up for more adventures, whether in short story form or as a full novel treatment.
1591269
What a great little story.  I am using this for writer's workshop.  It works beautifully as an interactive read aloud to encourage young writers.
232392
This is a very small book...that said, it is a great launching tool to inspire the macrame artist to incorporate wire into macrame designs. Of course, I would have like to see more examples and pages of instruction, but what was there was interesting and well presented.
698944
I like this little story, it feeds my need for more from the Farscape universe. I feel there is so much untapped potential with the Farscape universe, how about some full length novels, or a movie follow up or spin-off!
2185760
This is a story of life and how a simple little seed can grow to be productive and important. A tale of old that can be interpreted in many ways. It can mean a little thing can be important and make a difference in the lives of others. It can also mean that God is the Creator of all things big and small. It can also mean that we should nurture our plants to enable them to grow to enrich our lives. There may be other interpretations of this simple but sweet story.

The author told the story simply with clever illustrations for children to enjoy. I think the simplicity of the story will appeal to very young children and early readers.

I was given this book for an honest and unbiased review. I would recommend this lovely little book.
4317295
While small children are usually not much concerned about plot in a story, I found the premise in this book to be a little too much of a stretch.
It is unclear as to why the lonely raincloud didn't choose to stay with the other rainclouds, for example, or how a raincloud could rain indoors.
I have found that it makes a story more interesting, even for a little ones, to have a consistent and believable story line.

Apart from that, this book incorporates some excellent conversation starters to help you engage with your little one.
For example, the lonely raincloud at one point says, "Being grumpy is just another way of being sad." Talking further about this concept could easily help a child express himself about underlying reasons for his own grumpiness.
Other interesting things to talk about, from a child's point of view, could include discussing the subjects of loneliness, friendship and cooperation, and about why rain is necessary and useful.

Katie Harnett is both writer and illustrator for this book. Her simple illustrations are colorful and expressive. A child could almost make up his own story just by looking at the pictures in this book.
3503860
Definitely retold with a modern perspective, the stories are short and would make a good read with children. For a more academic read on folktales I would recommend something more voluminous. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading it!
1256733
While the books are short and light they really don't take the time to develop the storylines.  Maybe the author should think about only having one or two main stories that are well developed.
2251757
This is a cute book that is broken down into several smaller stories. This allows the child with even the shortest attention span to enjoy the story in smaller chunks.

The stories where detailed and gave a lot of information in each story as to why the character was the way they were.

I also (as a part and a teacher) really liked how at the end of each short story there was a suggested activity that could be done. I like that this was added.

I received this book for free or at a discount for my unbiased and honest review.
4963125
In a very short book (less than 100 pages) a lot of story was covered.  A quick and enjoyable read.