Children's Book Review: Turkey's Treat

Turkey's Treat is a beautifully illustrated book about a family getting ready for Christmas. We follow them as they cut down a tree and go to the grocery store for a turkey. While there, Jeff Watson, the main character, is bitten by the live turkey the store is giving away. After a trip to the emergency room, they return to the store where Jeff is given the turkey. By the time they make it home, he has decided that the turkey is a pet, not dinner.

Though the illustrations are well-done, the story is not. First of all, each two-page spread consists of an illustration on one page, with the story on the facing page. I'd say a typical page had about 150 words on it (some were longer, some shorter) which in my opinion, is too long for the target audience. Even though there were illustrations on every spread, the author, Marie Sanderlin Metroke spent a lot of time describing the characters. Jeff was a "four-eyed redhead", who was "freckle-faced". He has a "tall, skinny, older sister". His mom is a "pleasantly plump woman". His dad "really feel[s his] age, forty-five" and at one point "scratched his bald spot". Adjectives and adverbs abound and there really doesn't seem to be a focus to the story. After hearing it, my daughter suggested that we could give it to a friend. I wish I could tell you that such generosity meant she wanted to share something great with someone else; unfortunately she is still at the stage where she doesn't give up things she wants to keep.

While my review of the book is rather negative, most on Amazon are positive.

Thanks to the author for sending me a review copy, via Bostick.