I have never been confused by a children’s book. I mean, given their intended demographic, the storyline shouldn’t be too overwhelming.
And then we read Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House. One of the more confusing books Madeline and I have read together in … like, ever.
It’s about a Siamese cat, Skippyjon Jones, who was punished after coloring on the walls in his home. Then, all the sudden, he imagined himself a Chihuahua and was off on a caped crusader adventure.
Just in the first few pages alone, his Mom called him by four different names, in addition to his real name of Skippyjon Jones. Playfully, of course, but hard for the average young reader to understand. While he is off on his little Mexican adventure (I’m not entirely sure if he snuck out or was just dreaming), the content was peppered with Spanish words, made-up words, and generally nonsensical stuff.
As I was reading the story, I caught Madeline giving me the side-eye. I met her gaze, “This is a really weird story, isn’t it?” She nodded and we quickly finished so we could move on to the next book in our stack.
I’m not one to pan books. Mostly because I try and look for books that will appeal to us on a number of different levels, and I’d like to think that all books have some redeeming qualities.
This one has cute drawings of Siamese cats throughout.
And that’s about all.
And it promptly got traded in to Amazon for a gift card credit to buy our next book.
*to the series’ credit, although we have not read the original or any other Skippyjon Jones books in the series, I understand from reviews that this one was an exception and the others are better. That being said, skip it. The storyline is all over the place.
Hungry for more children’s book reviews?
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo is a Mercer Mayer book, and the last one we reviewed.
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun is all about embracing the different.
The Kissing Hand is a favorite classic, and is perfect especially if your little one is just starting school.
If I Could Keep You Little is one of my favorites, and a wonderful reminder on how quickly this time goes.
A Bad Case of Stripes is a run, lively, colorful story that your kids will love.
I’m with you, a kids books shouldn’t be so confusing.
Slightly off topic, I recently noticed (or perhaps overlooked in past) that Amazon has that feature that you can mentioned —trade in some books for a gift card. Have you traded in lots of books?
I have a bunch of books I would like to get rid of — those that don’t sell or I can’t trade in, I’ll donate. I did check the “sell on Amazon” but many of the books are already listed for less than $2, so I can’t see how its really worth it (even with the shipping credit — assuming I got the details correct). I did check a few non-Amazon sites that buy back books, and many no one wants, or they will give me under $1. don’t see how its worth even finding the tape to seal the box. Had better luck with some other books. Thanks.
Hi Betsy! There are two different ways to sell books with Amazon. One is the “sell on Amazon,” where you list the book for whatever you want (I usually price it just under what the lowest price is from other sellers), and Amazon will send you an e-mail when it sells, you ship it out, and they direct deposit the money. Sometimes, when you look up a title on Amazon, you will also see a link in the same area that says “sell US your item” (see the right side of this page for an example. Then, Amazon is buying the book directly from you. You print out a label so the shipping is on them, and once they receive it, they will send you an e-mail indicating you have an Amazon credit. I do both ways. They don’t accept every book as a trade-in (which is what the second option is called) – it’s generally the more popular, newer books. You can also do a bunch at once. Either option, I figure, gets me more than I would make at a garage sale, since most paperbacks won’t sell for more than 50-75 cents, for example. If the value on either option isn’t any good, then I check cash4books.net (they pay you when they receive your package, free shipping). And if I can’t get anything worth much there, I donate to our local used book store, whose profits go to support various needs at a local hospital. Hope that helps!
Cate O’Malley recently posted..Book Review: Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House
We’ve checked out a couple Skippyjon Jones books because the librarian at my son’s school recommended them. I am not a fan. It’s hard to follow and the only good thing about the stories are the little rhymes they sing/say. Other than that I’m lost and it just doesn’t hold my 36 yo attention. It doesn’t really hold the 4 or 6 yo’s attentions either, unless they are listening to an audio version.
I’m really glad it’s not just me! When it’s confusing for an adult, how is it supposed to engage a preschooler?
Cate O’Malley recently posted..Book Review: Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House
Thanks Cate. I’ve been trying to get rid of some books and there doesn’t seem to be much interest. I might try posting a few books to sell, although it seemed that most were available used at real low prices (from established sellers). But I’ll look into further. I did come across two sites that are like Orbitz for book sellers — you can then see what, if any companies are interested in buying and the price. One is dealoz and bookscouter — but don’t know much (regarding quality/accuracy) beyond that. I seem to get decent interest from Powells books.
Thanks again — would love to get rid of some clutter and some money while at it. Although the easiest and quickest would be just to donate.
The Skippyjon Jones books are REALLY frenetic and confusing. They feel really cluttered in terms of the storyline, if that makes sense. We’d gotten a few of the board books and they were cute, so I picked up one of the picture books. Big mistake!