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Marcella Was Bored by Robert Byrd |
Presenting a simple book for primary school children, Marcella Was Bored tells and shows the
story of Marcella, a personified cat that is tired of her boring daily life. With
this reader-friendly book, the well-known writer Robert Byrd provides an
excellent tale for children to think over the value of the things they have.
Resembling a
spoiled little girl, Marcella is a kitten who has got many things, such as a
happy family, a comfortable house, a bedroom full of toys, a storyteller
grandpa and a lot of friends to play with. But she is bored of all those
things, and she hates doing similar activities every day, for example, going to
dance classes or jumping the rope. She also considers many of her relatives as
bothersome. Tired of her repetitive and monotonous days, she walks away from
home, but she gets lost in a forest. She does not have a good time being there,
and the animals she comes across in the woods do not like her. Feeling alone
and rejected, she realises the value of those “tedious” things she disregarded.
Finally, she finds a way back home, and her attitude towards his relatives and
friends turns completely positive.
As the narration
flows, readers perceive Marcella’s moods and attitudes, which
are clearly expressed in the perfect illustrations of the book. Although the
ending is quite predictable, the simplicity of the writing and the visual input
of the meticulous drawings make an excellent combination for a delightful book.
This is a
perfect tale either for school lessons or for laptimes. Marcella is a character
many children will empathise with, not only girls but
also boys can feel mirrored by her. So
this book is a good option for parents and for teachers who deal with overindulged
children. Thoroughly recommended.
Review by: Andrés Lema.
/wel /ˈpiːpl̩ /
/pliːz / də fiːl friː tə ˈmeɪk ˈeni ˈkɒment ɔː səˈdʒestʃən / aɪl ˈrɪəli əˈpriːʃieɪt ðæt /
/həv səm naɪs ˈwɪntə ˈhɒlədeɪz /
Andrés.
Andres, I really enjoyed your review. I was quite difficult to find a suggestion or a piece of advice to give you.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, in the second clause of the last sentence in the second paragraph: " [...] her attitude towards her relatives [...]".
In the same sentence, why have you written a comma before the coordinating conjunction "and"? I think it's unnecessary. But, it's just an opinion.
Good job!
Hi Mariana, thanks!
DeleteYou must be right, but I’ll tell you my point. When I read your comment, my first thought was: COMMA SPLICE’S KARMA. But you didn’t mention that type of mistake. So I thought about commas and coordinating conjunctions:
COMMAS + FANBOYS (Not exophoric reference to the LOCOMÍA!!!)
Let’s check the fragment of the review:
“Finally, she finds a way back home, and her attitude towards his relatives and friends turns completely positive.”
My justification for placing that comma is the following:
If I erased the comma, I’d be putting “a way back home” and “her attitude towards his relatives […]” as the direct objects of the verb find.
Consider this: “Finally, she finds this and that ”
Well, that’s all. I insist, I’m not saying that I’m right, I’m just writing my mind. I’ll bear your suggestion in mind to learn from my mistakes.
Have a nice weekend,
And, rés.
COMMA SPLICE’S KARMA and COMMAS + FANBOYS ! Stop, Andres, please! Haha! Good job!
DeleteHi Andrés! I really like your review and your way of writing. The linguistic move I would like to use in a review is your introduction: "Presenting a simple book for primary school children, Marcella Was Bored tells and shows the story of Marcella, a personified cat that is tired of her boring daily life. With this reader-friendly book, the well-known writer Robert Byrd provides an excellent tale for children to think over the value of the things they have."
ReplyDeleteJime :)
Thanks Jime!
DeleteI'm flattered.
See us!
I loved this review. The linguistic move I would like to use in a review is "As the narration flows, readers perceive Marcella’s moods and attitudes, which are clearly expressed in the perfect illustrations of the book." It's so poetic!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Macarena!
DeleteI really like this story! Children tend to get bored of everything, so it is nice they can learn how to value what they have with this simple story.
ReplyDelete"Although the ending is quite predictable, the simplicity of the writing and the visual input of the meticulous drawings make an excellent combination for a delightful book." this is the linguistic move that called my attention and would like to use. You always come up with words I know but do not incorporate to my voc and really like them. Good review andres!
I really enjoyed your whole review!!! It's very well written and clear enough. I have noticed you like starting your paragraphs and other sentences with ING participle clauses (Presenting...Resembling...Feeling alone,...) as well as using an averbial clause of cause or reason at the beginning of a sentence (ED participle clause) (Tired of her repetitive..., she walks...). Besides that, I like the way you joined the sentences and the vocabulary you used...Fantastic!!!
ReplyDelete