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A review by luann
Clever Ali by Gail de Marcken, Nancy Farmer
3.0
I've read nearly all of Nancy Farmer's chapter books and some of her short stories. I never realized she'd written any picture books until I came across this one randomly on the library shelves. This didn't turn out to be a top favorite, but I did enjoy some parts. I really liked Gail de Marcken's vivid colors and detailed illustrations. I loved the poem at the beginning: "In Praise of Books" by al-Jahiz.
As far as the story itself, though, I thought it was much too wordy. There is way too much text to use this book as a read-aloud in a library storytime or school library lesson. It wouldn't work all that well as a nighttime read-aloud for parents and young children, either. This one is for older students.
Also, I had a question while reading this: If Ali is so clever, why didn't he listen to his father about overfeeding his pigeon? But I did like his solution for the cherries - and liked it even more after reading the author's note and learning that that part was based on something that really happened. So while this wasn't a top favorite, I'm not sorry I read it.
As far as the story itself, though, I thought it was much too wordy. There is way too much text to use this book as a read-aloud in a library storytime or school library lesson. It wouldn't work all that well as a nighttime read-aloud for parents and young children, either. This one is for older students.
Also, I had a question while reading this: If Ali is so clever, why didn't he listen to his father about overfeeding his pigeon? But I did like his solution for the cherries - and liked it even more after reading the author's note and learning that that part was based on something that really happened. So while this wasn't a top favorite, I'm not sorry I read it.