Franklin's Trading Cards (Kids Can Read) [Paperback]

Sharon Jennings (Author), Sean Jeffrey (Author), Alice Sinkner (Author), Shelley Southern (Author), Paulette Bourgeois (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Kids Can Read

Franklin helps his friends build their own collection of trading cards. This Level 2 first reader contains longer stories, varied sentences, increased vocabulary, more difficult visual clues and some repetition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharon Jennings is an award-winning author of many books for young people, including C'mere, Boy! and Bearcub and Mama, a finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Sharon lives in Toronto.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Kids Can Press (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553374649
• ISBN-13: 978-1553374640
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Bourgeois, Paulette
  • #68 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Turtles

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Finding a win-win solution, April 18, 2003

By 

Jenny Sayward - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franklin's Trading Cards (Kids Can Read) (Hardcover)

Franklin the turtle eats lots of Fly Krispy cereal to collect the Superhero
Trading cards inside. His friends follow along, even though they don't like the
cereal. When Franklin finally gets two of the rare Super Cat cards, he faces a
problem of envy and fairness with his friends. He finds a kind and moral
solution that also allows him to get what he wants most. Not saccharin or
heavy-handed, like many such stories.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's Not Natural, But I Can See What They Were Trying For, May 29, 2003

By 

George Buttner "Agent0042" (Dayton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Franklin's Trading Cards (Kids Can Read) (Hardcover)

Normally, "Franklin" books are great stories. Theyr'e fun to read and have interesting characters and dialogue. However, that doesn't seem to be the case here.

There are two main problems with this version of "Franklin's Trading Cards." The first one is the striking lack of resemblance to the television episode on which it is based. Sometimes this can be a good thing, but the changes really aren't for the better. The television episode features both Snail and Goose in major roles, but they're completely absent from this story, fundamentally altering the plot. The other major change in the basic story (there are others, but of less importance) is a major difference in the ending. I won't spoil it, but it's completely untrue to the original ending. The second major problem is the dialogue. Usually, the dialogue in the "Franklin" series is interesting and, most importantly, natural. The characters speak, for the most part, just like you would expect real kids to speak. Not so in this story. Typical lines include: "I will eat Fly Krispy cereal for lunch and supper. ... I will make Fly Krispy squares for dessert." Note the avoidance of contractions, a pattern which seems to hold true with only a few exceptions in the book.

I understand what's being attempted here. The writers are trying to bring the dialogue down to a level intended for a younger audience, as part of this new "Kids Can Read" series. But the result is an unexciting story and unnatural dialogue. Fans of the series will probably want to avoid this one and watch the well-written television episode on which it is based instead.