I received this book for free from the publisher as a free story in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Slicker McQuicker and Friends
by
Jennie Wren
picture book that was published by Archway Publishing on September 7, 2016 and has 36 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Illustrator: Erik Orejel
An anthology of two short stories in the Slicker McQuicker children’s picture book series and revolving around a boy with too-large ears and hair that is much too red.
This PDF was sent to me by Simon & Schuster for an honest review.
My Take
Both stories would have been better on their own as full-length children’s stories. As it is, there wasn’t enough room for Wren to really demonstrate the point of the first story. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more on the second story as well, but it was well enough.
In general, the stories push the children into recognizing true friendship while demonstrating Slicker’s rising sense of confidence, as well as his strength for doing good no matter what his so-called friends have done.
The rhymes trip along quite nicely, although there were a few spots where I had to re-read the verses several times to try and make sense of them.
The colored pencil graphics were interesting with very cheerful color choices.
The Stories
”Everyone’s Special“ embraces the different in Slicker and makes it singular. Noteworthy enough to make other kids wish their eyes could do what Slicker’s do.
In spite of the summary, none of the other children’s qualities are mentioned. The closest Wren comes is the group picture at the end of the story. Even Slicker’s “qualities” aren’t explored as much as I would have liked. The ear bit was confusing and didn’t do anything for me nor was his hair addressed. But I surely did enjoy Slicker’s laughter.
“Slicker’s Bad Day“ finds Slicker rejected by his friends until he shows them the actions of a real friend.
This story was better, but would have been even better if Wren had tweaked that ending a bit.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a cartoon of fun with a pale blue background and Slicker in the middle of his friends, standing on an island of grass at the bottom of the cover. The top is a spray of a title with the first two words in an outlined deep sky blue, the “and” in an outlined white, and the last word in an outlined cheery green.
The title encompasses both short stories, for it’s all about Slicker McQuicker and Friends.
