Franziska Biermann

Zirkus für alle Sinne: Dieses Bilderbuch widmet jeder Artistengruppe eine Doppelseite. Die Artisten in diesem Zirkus sind jedoch keine gewöhnlichen Artisten, sondern meistens Tiere. So jonglieren die Esel mit Rüben, die gezähmten Krokodile lochen mit ihren scharfen Zähnen die Noten für die Musikkapelle, ein Tintenfisch stellt seine Intelligenz unter Beweis und eine Schlange zeigt ihre unglaubliche Beweglichkeit. Eine Seiltänzerin, wilde Schweine, ein Zauberer und eine Hula-Hoop Dame ergänzen dieses skurrile Programm. Freche Verse und witzige Illustrationen sorgen zusätzlich für gute Unterhaltung. Die Hör-CD liefert jeweils die erste Hälfte des Textes jeder Doppelseite gefolgt von ca. 4 Minuten dazu passender Zirkusmusik. All diese Teile regen geradezu an, selber Zirkus zu machen, wozu man auf den letzten Seiten auch noch ganz praktische Tipps findet. Ein ungewöhnliches Buch voller bizarrer, phantasie- und humorvoller Ideen. Wer es gern etwas schräg mag, wird das Buch lieben! Bedingt durch die Versform ist es sprachlich eher anspruchsvoll. Ab 5 Jahren, ***, Patricia Hacker.… (mais)

This book was just okay for me. Maybe I am not giving children credit, but I am not sure they will understand the premise of "Consuming" a book. The fox reads the books, then he eats them. He actually ends up in prison for eating and destroying books at the library. While he is in prison, he writes a best selling book so is never hungry again because he can eat his own book. He also gets released from prison because he writes a best selling book. Not sure about the message here.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)

The Fox Who Ate Books is the story of a fox who loves books so much that he literally devours them. His main source of books is from the library until he is banned by the librarian. After difficulty digesting papers, catalogues and mail flyers from the recycling bins, he decides to rob a bookstore. Unfortunately he is caught, convicted and placed in prison. This would be a good discussion starter on consequences/decision making. Additionally, there are many metaphors that would make great examples for Language Arts lessons.… (mais)

Fox is a book lover, but he also has an insatiable appetite for eating books. The bookworm in all of us can understand what Mr. Fox is going through, and even commiserate with him. However, I think the book lover in us would be appalled with Mr. Fox for gobbling up the books and causing them physical harm.

Mr. Fox’s appetite is so ravenous that he ends up selling everything he owns to buy more books to read and eat. Once he runs out of books and money, he turns to the library and eventually the corner bookstore to subdue his hunger. Unfortunately, he does not consider the consequences of his actions at each location and ends up in quite a bit of trouble. Luckily, reading and eating all those books might have given Mr. Fox the fuel he needs to write his way out of the trouble he ends up in.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I love Mr. Fox even though he is a bit of a rascal. Mr. Fox loves everything about books, from their smell to the feel of the pages, and I can totally relate to that sentiment. I’m pretty sure most young readers will enjoy cheering for Mr. Fox to find more books to eat, and for him to cause additional mischief. The author did not shy away from using bigger and harder vocabulary words, which I approve of. This is important as it can lead to a great teaching moment for younger and older readers alike. The illustrations though vivid and bright left were not aesthetically pleasing.

Although the end resolution wasn’t handled in a way I find appropriate for younger readers, I do believe there is plenty of positive messages in this book. There are many themes that can develop into great conversations with young readers. Such as the proper care of books, following library rules and all the places where books can be found. Another great message is to consider the consequences of your actions and the importance of not being greedy. Younger readers might even be inspired to write up their own stories, just like Mr. Fox does. Whether you read it to a group or by yourself, there is plenty of humor to be found in the story.… (mais)