Customer Reviews

Dick Foote and the Shark

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my favorite childhood book. Yes, it is a poem. Mistakenly assuming it is a novel before you read it is certainly not a reason to give it a low rating - seems more like your problem than the story's.

It is actually so well done, and I am still so enthralled with its graceful, charming and image-evocative phrasing that I have it committed to memory. For the child I was it was the perfect way to tell this story of a father and son's strained relationship. I am no poet, and I hate poems that aspire to rhyme and rhythm at the expense of saying what the author wants to say. This is so far from that. To me, this is the rare example of when the verse and the cadence align perfectly with the story that needs to be told. I have nothing but praise for someone who could create this story in this format.

I thought this was a novel but it's actually a short poem. It's probably of interest to Natalie Babbit fans only.