The Voice of Mom

Amazon.com

A while back, I was sent a copy of Close Encounter of a Very GREEN Kind for review. Being the eco-conscious woman I am, I couldn’t wait to read it with my son. A few weeks back, he decided it was time to crack it open.

The story is about a family living in the future. Dad’s a scientist. Mom is Mother Earth. They have two kids – a teen girl and a younger boy. And Grandpa lives with them too. And, since it’s the future, they have robots too, of course.

The book starts out with character descriptions, then a several chapter-long intro to all the characters. About half way through, the action starts when the family gets sent to the Planet Earth in 2008.

The illustrations in the book are beautiful. My son initially chose to read this because he was attracted to all the images. If this was a picture book, it would be perfect. But it’s not.

Unfortunately, the book falls short. I found the writing awkward and the storyline just too slow. Unusual words are used instead of more natural ones. The fact that the word “Green” is printed in the color green throughout the book was an unnecessary touch that added nothing to the reading.

Honestly, my son and I really wanted to like Close Encounter of a Very GREEN Kind. We really, really did. But we just couldn’t get into it. Although anything with a green message is a good thing for young kids, I just cannot recommend this book.