Friday, March 22, 2013

Change the World Before Bedtime, by Mark Kimball Moulton, Josh Chalmers, and Karen Good


Change the World Before Bedtime
Authors: Mark Kimball Moulton, Josh Chalmers, and Karen Good 
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing 
Publication Date: August 31, 2012 
Do you have that friend, that super awesome friend who's amazing and sooo hip and soooo good and always recycles and probably knows how to knit and understands the phrase "artisan cheeses" and has her own Etsy store and makes sure her children all volunteer at the animal shelter and always has the coolest fair trade ethically made handbags? She's your coolest friend and she's soooo nice and you don't have a bad word to say about her? And you know how you just want to punch her right in the face? 


This book is that friend. In book form.

There's so much to love about this book. The ultra twee illustrations. The heavy-handedness of the message (on every single page). The cutesy collection of fonts (can't have too many fonts!). The flowers and swirls that say, "Hey! Look how amazing we are!" The fact that they felt the need to say on the cover that the book is "For Boys and Girls." Okay, so maybe that list of "things to love" is not MY list of things to love about this book. 

Bottom line: I get where they're going with this, trying to inspire kids to be superheroes by doing good things for their community like being environmentally and socially conscious. But the end result is saccharine, heavy-handed, humourless and frankly, a little insulting. I wanted to punch it in the face (not that I condone bullying...oh man, they're going to write a sequel about how to be a superhero by standing up to mean book bloggers now...eep).You May Also Like:

  
 Wild Rose's Weaving, by Ginger Churchill (illustrated by Nicole Wong)
  
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss 


Fairies at Bedtime, by Karen Wallace


We Share Everything! by Robert Munsch (illustrated by Michael Martchenko) 


Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

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