Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Review for Batty Malgoony's Mystic Carnivale


Batty Malgoony’s Mystic Carnivale
by K. Michael Crawford
(Virtual Book Worm, June 2009)



Batty Malgoony’s Mystic Carnivale is a magical drawing escapade that artists, young and old, are going to love. This is a true drawing book. Along with the beautifully brightly colored artwork covering every page, there are white spaces within the pictures for the reader to draw in and add their own special touches. The theme to this interesting drawing book is the carnival. Carnivals are legendary for their oddities and uniqueness, and what makes them different is what also seems to draw in the crowd. Things people have never seen before, and may never want to see again after they do.


Each page is filled with beautiful artwork of each event at Batty’s Carnivale and the interesting characters who work there, including Batty himself. The author introduces the reader to each area and explains a bit about it, guiding the reader to what needs to be done. What is fantastic are the spaces that he leaves for the reader to draw in. For some of the harder creatures or objects, he created an outline for the reader to follow to help them along and to inspire creativity.


This drawing book is for seven years old and up, definitely for the older children. There may be some drawings that younger children may not like and might find a little gruesome, though the drawings are cleanly done with no violence whatsoever. Even though both boys and girls could have fun with this book, the older boys who like the oddities and the gruesomeness of things, will love the chance to expand on it and be able to add and create really gross and disgusting things and characters.


K. Michael Crawford does a fabulous job with this book. He created a world that the reader can dive into, using their imaginations to propel them into another realm challenging their minds to go beyond the everyday and to really be creative. This drawing book is of course, fantasy, which allows the creation of several fantastical objects, characters, and things. The reader can just have fun. This would be a great book for children to take with them when they go on long trips or are in the car. It will keep their little hands and minds busy for hours.


Reviewer Renee Hand is the award-winning author of The Crypto-Capers series. Look for her upcoming release The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, The Great Pie Catastrophe.

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