The Terrible Fate of Two Young Crows Who Challenged Hooty the Owl: And Other Realistically Harrowing Tales of the Natural World: The Lost DARK Tales of Thornton W. Burgess, Book I
By Thornton W. Burgess and Gregory J. Lovern
I am not sure how to approach this review and I’ve found myself saying that a lot lately. I think the problem might be myself. I keep misinterpreting blurbs or maybe authors aren’t 100% upfront in their queries, I can’t say for sure.
I was told this would be a horror for children. When I cracked open the book I was greeted with many warnings and proclamations that this book might scare or even scar adult readers and parents alike. I thought that was a silly little addition to the story and a great way to attract older readers.
Most of my review on this book is based largely on the confusion I experienced while reading the first portion of it. It isn’t really clear who exactly the author is or what the point of the book is either. Once I pushed that aside and got into the story I somewhat enjoyed it. This is a book about animals, birds actually, ones with personalities, habits, and development. The writing is based on the 1930’s as well as the illustrations. I think the inky sketches helped boost the story very much. That’s probably my biggest complement and criticism.
The illustrations were good but they carried the story. Not a single part of this was scary or horrific. Only the illustrations made it somewhat frightening—though I’d say they were probably creepy if anything. Maybe I’m a hard person to scare or maybe the story simply didn’t meet my expectations.
There was an awful lot of build-up in the beginning of the book. From the bloody red and black cover to the warnings and claims of scaring any reader in sight, I thought this would push boundaries and leave me awake at night. But, sadly, it did not. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good read, just not a scary read.
I think this book will be appreciated most by children, since it is a children’s book after all. It has humor and personality, but if you’re looking for something horrifying then I don’t think you will find it in this book. Regardless, I still recommend it to readers of all ages.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*