FICTION

Tell Me a Story

by Emily BANNISTER

illus. by Barbara Chotiner. 22p. Kane Miller. June 2017. Tr $11.99. ISBN 9781610676014.

COPY ISBN

K-Gr 2—While this title aims to be a source of inspiration for aspiring young writers, much of the content is lackluster. The bright illustrations, featuring friendly cartoon kids in a variety of daydreamlike settings, and the thick pages give the illusion of quality, but the rhyming text is forced, and the ideas presented are not fleshed out for the intended audience ("Describe what you see,/And how you feel,/Make it exciting but also seem real.").

VERDICT Skip it. Consider instead Abby Hanlon's Ralph Tells a Story.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Anne Ragain, Springfield Public Schools, MO , Feb 01, 2017

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