Talula goes to New York
Jeanine Altreche
Illustrated by Bobbi Switzer
Reviewed by Sara Marcus
A combination of mystery, adventure, and travel, Talula Goes to
New York
follows young Talula and her family on their trip to the Big
Apple.
Directed to a young audience, the closely printed text requires a more
experienced reader to share the story. Enticing one to join the
trip,
the reader follows the changing thoughts and activities of Talula, her
older brother AJ, twin sister Tessa, mom, dad, and dog Blue.
The
reader is left unsure as to the truth in the 'watchmen' - the ones who
set Talula and the reader on a top-secret mission to find missing
pieces for Talula's mystery box. Talula names the reader
'Peepers,'
for calling in need of help. One is left wondering as to what
exactly
the mystery box does, and how everything so neatly falls into
place.
Written by an elementary school teacher, Jeanine Altreche, the work is
filled with many facts about New York City - facts that most would be
hardpressed to know. Without seeing Talula using a guidebook, the
reader is left wondering how these facts are known.
The interactions
between siblings, however, are accurate and true-to-life. In the
book,
the reader is asked to read a note written backward by using a mirror,
to answer riddles, use codes, and match pictures. With high
aspirations to both educate and entertain, the book feels to be lacking
in accuracy, such as when young Talula hails a taxi cab and tells the
family their next stop, or the expansive knowledge held by the heroine
of this work. While presented in a square-cover style book, this
would
be better presented in an older-reader style based on the amount of
text on a page.
