Jasper John Dooley Star of the Week by Caroline Adderson –NOT RECOMMENDED

Adderson, Caroline and Illustrated by Clanton, Ben Jasper John Dooley Star of the Week 128 pgs. Kids Can Press, Ltd, 2012. $11.96.  (Language-G Violence-G; Sexual Content-G).

When it’s Jasper John Dooley’s turn to be Star of the Week he is beyond excited.  But things start go wrong, first off his much loved lint collection doesn’t go over that well for Show and Tell.  Then Jasper is jealous of his friend Ori’s little sister, and wishes that his family was bigger. When he builds his own brother out of wood, named Earl, it eventually lands him in the principal’s office. Will Jasper make the most of his week in the spotlight or make a mess of everything?

This was one of the worst books that I have reviewed. From an adult perspective (with a psychology background), I was downright disturbed. When a 7 year old is sniffing his lint collection (including belly button lint) in a dark basement it raises my alarm bells. That wasn’t the end of my list of qualms either and you don’t want to get me started.

While I know that student readers won’t have my same hang-ups, I do think that they will fail to relate to this character as he uber weird, acts way younger than his age, and is just plain pathetic. 

EL – NOT RECOMMENDED Reviewer: Stephanie MLS graduate & Author.