Books : The Emperor's New Clothes

Rating: - It was visually rich but disappointing in other aspects.
After hearing General Schwartzkoff promote this book, I immediately ordered it for my new grandson. I knew it would be a few years before he could understand it but thought this would be a book to treasure until then. I sat down with the CD playing to follow along expecting to be delighted - and I was from time to time. The illustrations are wonderful, everything I had hoped for. The narration, alas, is not. My overall impression is that of an inside joke and it isn't the Emperor being naked. The famous personalities that contribute to the narration should add to the entertainment value but I confess I was often bored. Was this written to amuse adults? Robin Williams was an exception. I could imagine my grandson giggling at his portrayal but thought there needed to be much more humor or wit in the other characters to hold a child's attention through a fairly long story. I love the concept and admire the enormous effort that went into this project. I really wanted to be thrilled. I will give it another try. Another small quibble: the CD narration varies from the words on the page quite frequently, for those that use a book to teach reading. That might be a bit confusing to a child.

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Rating: - What a disappointment!
Has everyone taken leave of their senses? This book was given to my 5-year old niece as a Christmas gift. When the time came to read it to her as a bed-time story, the text was so inappropriate as to warrant a complete departure from the written text in favor of ad-libbing a more suitable, coherent story. Who is the audience for this book??? Because of the title, we made the honest mistake of believing that this was a children's story, which after reading it we have discovered that it clearly is not. The book was completely inappropriate for a small child, but I wonder who it as meant for? The scatalogical humour would be most appreciated by the 13-year old crowd, but I have a hard time believing that these kids would pick up a copy of what they only know as a fairy tale. I can only draw the conclusion that the book was targeted directly to those members of the People Magazine set who require only a celebrity name to give the book any credibility. After reading the book I was angry at having bought into the hype myself and not checking it out more thoroughly before buying it, instead of trusting the quality based only on the "Speilberg factor" which has, until now, been a pretty reliable when it comes to movies. The initial anger has passed and has now changed to more of a real disappointment that some of our most respected celebrities - many known to be interested and active in children's issues and whom I beleived cared about giving children quality culture - were a part of this and that so many of them participated with such a poor quality contribution when given a terrific opportunity to come to the market with that rare children's book that raises the common denominator. I will surely be accused of taking this all too seriously and not having a sense of humour which isn't true. Had the book been funny and truly written with a child reader in mind - or billed as something other than a children's book! - I would have no problem with it (although I still wouldn't have liked it). I'm pleased that the proceeds go to the Starbright foundation and the thing is not a total loss.

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Rating: - Excellent and entertaining for kids four and above.
The book itself is beautiful and the CD is wonderful and easy to follow. Its a great way to entertain a child or children and get tham interested in reading. My daughter never liked the story until now. She almost has it memorized and is beginning to recognize words. My one criticism and caution to other parents is the Fran Drescher character because of the use of an inappropriate term considering the audience this was meant to address. I was shocked to hear it and surprised that it was not edited out. Children hear enough bad language elsewhere, there was no need to tarnish such a wonderful product in this manner. I hope that the Starbright Foundation and Steven Spielberg will gift us with many more such books.

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Rating: - You should read it!
I love books, and I love movies, and I love music. And I love famous people. This is just great! I think this book is funny and cute. I'd buy it if it weren't so expensive. That's why it's good to have nice, rich friends. You get to freeload. Or just sneak a peak at the Price Costco.