Besides an acceptance letter inviting the four main characters to the Life is Sweet Candy Factory (the font in the book was always bold and funky whenever the name of the candy factory appeared and my son never grew tired of looking for it on each page) and a newspaper article about the upcoming Confectionary Association's annual new candy contest there is a brief "Things You Should Know" chapter. For us, reading The Candymakers over a long period of time and in small chunks meant that we forgot some of the small details and clues that became important in following chapters. Wendy Mass uses a wonderful plot device that allows the reader to experience the same day over and over from the different perspectives of the four main characters. If you are giving it to a reader, make sure that this person is dedicated, diligent and an observant reader.
My advice (and as you read on you will see the wisdom in it) is to read this book as continuously and quickly as possible if you are reading it out loud. I tell you this not because it is any reflection on the book itself but because reading the book over this period of time gave me an insight how best to tackle this tome - which is a record length for a middle grade book that is not fantasy or historical fiction. There are many, many reasons (that any bedtime reader will understand immediately) why it took us four months to read 453 pages. And, since October, 2011, I have been reading it out loud at night to my seven year old son. Since it came out in paperback in October, 2011 it has been flying off the shelves.
I am a huge fan of all the books of hers I have read (reviews of which you can read by clicking here) and a huge fan of kid's books that have candy as a central plot theme. Of course I wanted to read Wendy Mass's newest book The Candymakers the minute I saw it.
0 kommentar(er)
