Book: Sheerluck Holmes and the Case of the Missing Friend

What can I say? It’s a VeggieTales Book! It’s also a bit lower on my reading level. I thought it would make a nice change of pace for my reading, and for yours. It also provides the opportunity to push back against some of the criticism that I see Bob and Larry draw from many of my fellow grumpy Baptist bloggers. We should keep in mind that they are vegetables, not theologians, and are therefore entitled to be simple and silly.

Today’s book is Sheerluck Holmes and the Case of the Missing Friend. It’s at the “I can read! Stage 1” level, meaning a target of mostly beginner readers. Let’s break down three areas:

1. Ease of reading. This is simply worded. The sentences are short. The vocabulary does not include big words like vocabulary. “Suddenly,” “beautiful,” and “policeman” appear to be the largest words I can find. The grammar is simple. So, easy to read. Great for your beginning reader.

2. Illustrations. These are full-color and accurately represent the VeggieTales characters. The colors are softly muted, not as bright as the cover art. It’s a nice effect, and I find it helpful for using this as a good night reader: rather than super-bright Bob, he’s a bit calmer. Also fits the London Fog motif.

3. Moral. VeggieTales try to teach a moral alongside pointing out that God made you special and He loves you very much. Here, the moral is about treating our friends with respect. This is handled well. For the nitpickers, of course it’s all sewn up nicely and neatly, and the real world’s not always that way.

Too bad for the real world.

I laughed, I cried…it moved me, Bob. It’s a great extra book to have around if you have new readers in your life. Grab one.

Zondervan gave me the book, because I asked for it. I asked for it because I thought it would be good, and then I found it to be good. So, yes, I was pre-biased. But not by pressure from Zondervan but by a love for a talking Tomato. Whether sitting or standing.