 Fiscal Pear & Shimmer in The Call of River Whale |
| Review Date: September 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Harriet A. Robinson, |
| This is my cousins first book and it was excellent. Everyone should read it to their children or if they are older have them read it, it is very funny and exciting. I can't wait for her next book. |
The storyline is hard to follow
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| Review Date: December 31, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Christine M. Irvin, Columbus, OH |
"Fiscal Pear & Shimmer" is a story about a pear named Fiscal and a firefly named Shimmer. They live in an area where there are a lot of bakeries, like the Bakery of Pears and the Bakery of Blueberries. The owner of the Bakery of Pears is angry at the competition and vows to beat them. In order to do that, she wants to capture Fiscal Pear (who can walk and talk) and put him in a cage in front of her bakery, sure the added attraction will increase her business. Shimmer and his friends go to heroic measures to prevent that from happening. There is a whole cast of heroes and villains with such unusual names as Cutter, SOL, Ventrili-bug, and Butt Rot Root (yes, that's the character's name).
Even though the ultimate lesson to be learned from the story is one of friendship and trust, it's a challenge to simply read through the entire story to find that out. The plot is disjointed and vague it is difficult to follow.
The text font is also erratic, alternating between italics, bold face print and ALL CAPS. I suppose this was done in an effort to separate the parts of the story, but the end result is annoying rather than helpful. The text is also rife with long, run-on sentences, with way too many commas, as well as many sentences that required commas but didn't have any.
The story and crazy cast of characters was somewhat interesting, but I got lost in the way the story was put together and the ever-changing fonts. The author certainly has a lively imagination, which has to count for something, but I really couldn't enjoy the story. 2 stars.
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A fresh children's fantasy, recommended
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| Review Date: December 13, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI USA |
Not everything is easy when you're a humanoid pear. "Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the Call of River Whale" tells of Fiscal Pear and his companion Shimmer, and their evasion of an evil baker who wants to exploit Fiscal's unique status. The help of SOL and the council of the wise seem to be their only hope for escape, but ambition isn't foiled so easily. "Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the Call of River Whale" is a fresh children's fantasy, recommended.
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Imagination is Key
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| Review Date: November 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Bryan Carey, Houston, TX |
Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the call of River Whale is a nice little children's book that follows some unique and memorable characters as they try to fend off an attack by a bakery shop bent on capturing an unusual pear and placing him on open display in order to outdo its business rivals. This children's book includes an interesting mix of characters like Shimmer the Lightening Bug, Olie the Owl, Cutter the knife, flitter and flutter the butterflies, and Butt Rott Root, the accomplice in crime who attempts to capture Fiscal Pear for the Bakery of Pears.
As you can easily tell from the names of the above characters, this is no ordinary children's book. You won't find any John's, Tom's, Sally's, and Sue's here. In fact, of all the qualities of this children's book, the imagination is easily the book's strongest point and those who like creativity will certainly appreciate this book and consider it far better than others of its genre. The story itself is also a little more creative than usual, even though it does conclude with the typical happy ending.
Even though this book succeeds on an imaginative level, it does have a few flaws. For one, I wish it had more illustrations. In the book's ninety- plus pages, there are only seven black and white illustrations. They are excellent, but there are so few you lose track of what each character is and what their role is in the story. Additional illustrations would have made this book stronger and more memorable.
The story presented in this book is a little bit advanced, and this is why the book is recommended for the nine- to- twelve age group. Some books have a recommended age group that is meant to be taken loosely but in this instance, my recommendation is to take the advice of the author and stick with kids within that age group. Younger children will not understand the story and very young children will either lose interest immediately, due to the lack of illustrations, or find the story a little scary. Even children in the targeted age group will find the book a little bit much to take. It's almost like it was written to appeal to adults who appreciate great imagination, even though it is children to whom the book is targeted.
This book is good, and I like its element of suspense as well as its excellent use of imaginative skill. It's not a classic, but many will find it an enjoyable read and it does succeed at encouraging children to let their imaginations run wild. The characters are great and a little more effort is all this book needs to improve it to the level of a more highly recommended title.
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Fiscal Pear - One of the most adorable characters ever!
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| Review Date: October 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Olivia Brooks-Scrivanich, |
This review is from Violet Crush who has given me permission to post.
Fiscal Pear and Shimmer and the call of the River Whale
September 16, 2008 -- Violet
A mournful sob followed by the sound of crying penetrates the night's silence, causing the owl stationed nearby to wonder what the matter is.
And thus, we are introduced to a walking, talking Fiscal Pear. Yes, it is actually a Pear, a fruit. Shimmer is a lightening bug and his friend. SOL is the who saves Pear's life time and again as the book progresses. There are many more friendly and adorable characters in this book.
The villains? Oh yes, CUTTER. It is a walking, talking scissor that makes a terrifying sound of metal against metal, a bag of flour and a can of milk. And they have a junior set too. They want to capture Fiscal Pear and display him in the `Bakery of Pears' to attract customers to the already dying bakery.
And helping them is the awfully smelly and slimy butt rott Root. He is infested with the worst disease ever and he loves to spread the love, so to say.
Fiscal Pear and Shimmer escape from the evil clutches of Cutter and his accomplices and thus starts a wild and exciting chase. They ride with SOL to the village of lights, they travel through a maze of underground tunnels on a train, they meet the ocean shimmers, take refuge on the refuge rock and reach the council of wise. And finally they destroy the enemies, which is actually very interesting and funny and cute as well.
And one of the most adorable characters I have ever read about is Fiscal Pear. I just felt like hiding him in my pocket and running away. The cover of the book also helps a lot in imagining the characters. Also, the names of characters like Butt Rott Root, Olie Owl, Skookumchuck made me laugh.
I really enjoyed this one. The author Olivia Brooks-Scrivanich can write an old-school, feel good children's book. It has all the elements that should be read and taught to children. There is friendship, bravery, adventure, values, the fighting spirit and the differentiation between right and wrong.
I would really prefer the very young kids reading such books rather than the dark Harry Potter books.
Thank you again Jennifer for the book. It helped me keep my mind off my problems.
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