Ruth Amos

I am torn in my opinion about this book. On the one hand, the subject matter is rather ridiculous. Angry birds turned into transformer bird robots? Weird. I've seen the web toons they made in this series, and at least they approach the topic with a sense of humor. It just feels like one hybrid too far, like trying to appreciate a taco pizza cheeseburger or something. On the other hand, DK is an amazing publisher that creates phenomenal books. The layout here is amazing: great illustrations, small sections with titles, interesting sidebars, a table of contents and index, and even a quiz at the end. The text is a nonfiction rendering of the fictional story; it summarizes the major characters and big plot points. Also, my girls love it. They see no problem with transformer robot angry birds. While the inspiration material is not too appealing to me, I admire the quality of this book and its writing concerning that source material. I'll give it three stars and call it a wash.… (meer)

Generally I am not of fan of beginning reader books based on characters and not driven by an authentic story, but DK publishing company does its job very well. Rather than a mediocre story using the angry bird characters, this book operates like a basic encyclopedia for very young readers. It introduces the characters from the game series, and then provides two-page spreads to describe each character and any relevant items and relationships. The book is very informative, and uses sentences that are simplified for a young vocabulary but still sound natural. Every page is packed with colorful illustrations that are vibrant and masterfully placed around the text. The book even includes a table of contents, glossary, and an index. From a parent's perspective, this book is actually not bad. It explains the world of angry birds with a nonfiction book's clarity and organization, and does not force a bad story on us for the sake of our children. From a child's perspective, this book is wonderful, chock full of favorite friends in an attractive package. If beginning readers series want to capitalize on popular characters to create books, this is how it should be done.… (meer)