Customer Reviews

The Heroes of Googley Woogley

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was lucky enough to get review copies of both of Dalton's books from the publisher. I read them with my 6 year old son (target audience, I am sure.) When he saw the books, he was stoked. He kept looking at the pictures and asking me if someone drew them. Then he saw the picture on the back covers and said "This guy looks like me!!"

I explained that the author was a little boy not much older than himself, and he was so excited. He kept saying "I didn't know kids could make books, too."

When we read Googley Woogley, he loved the names of the characters and the way the pictures were perfect for each page. As a parent, I loved that he was entertained.

All in all, I can't give this book anything less than a 5 star rating. Both for its entertainment value and its inspirational value. Now my son is writing and illustrating a book too!! :)

I loved it. Kids have such imaginations. The author is only 7 and he can put together a nice little kids' book with a beginning, a middle, and an end. I chuckled a bit as I turned the pages. I thought the illustrations added to the text well.

In this adventure the author and his dad are rich rock stars who take their wealth and buy a space ship. We get to see them travel to another galaxy and meet some aliens. They did some gum chewing and battle, too. All in all, this was a nice little fun book that I'm sure young children will enjoy having read to them and possibly read themselves. 5 stars!

Cute, seven year old author and illustrator, Dalton James, captures readers' attention once again with his second book. Our heros from the previous story, The Sneakiest Pirate, are now rich and they decide to embark on a journey in space to help people. What will this adventure entail for Pete and his daddy James? Of course you'll have to read the wonderful adventure to find out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

The Heroes of Googley Woogley is an excellent read for young children. Not only is it filled with detailed and colorful images created by the author, is quite humorous, it also touches on the classic theme of good vs. evil, which is a great way to teach children to help out those less fortunate, and to strive to be on the good side.

If you have ever wondered what a children's book would look like if it was written and illustrated by a child; wonder no more. Dalton James, age seven, is the author and illustrator of The Heroes of Googley Woogley. The opening page introduces us to Rock Star Pete and his daddy, Rock Star James. They have lots of money so they use all their money to buy a spaceship. In the spaceship is a store that includes lots of candy. They go into space and find the planet Googley Woogley, which has two types of inhabitants: the good blue SooDos and the bad red SooDonts. There is a battle and Pete comes up with the idea of using chewed chewing gum to trap the SooDonts and Pete and his dad return to earth to become scientists.

The cover shown above is pretty representative of the style of the illustrations in the book. They are outlined in black marker and filled in with crayons. They clearly go with the story and are consistant throughout the story.

I have a five year old assistant who helps me review all children's books. This book and the other Dalton James book I received today from Dalton, via Bostick, held her attention while I read them to her, and when I asked her if she liked them she said "Yes". You'll note below that the reading level given for the book was ages 9-12. It has been a LONG time since I did a readability analysis and I long ago got rid of the directions for doing so, therefore I won't argue about the reading level as determined by the words used. However, I doubt this book would hold the attention of any 9-12 year old. Assuming the readability analysis was properly done, I suggest giving it to a 4-7 year old as a "read to me" book.

As a children's book, this book is in the upper level, what makes it extraordinary is that it was written and illustrated by a seven-year-old boy. James demonstrates significant story-telling talent as his two space traveling heroes (Space Boy Pete and his father Space Man James) manage to solve the problem of the thieving SooDonts. The bad SooDonts have stolen all the spaceships from the good SooDos, preventing them from delivering food and taking care of sick people. Their solution is one that is consistent with the mind of a seven-year-old and is so imaginatively simplistic that it is unlikely that an adult would have thought of it. My daughter would have loved this book if it had been available when she was young.

I think it is very awesome that a 7-year-old boy wrote & illustrated this book. I have a 7-year-old myself & she's creative too but this is pretty amazing.

The child who wrote this book included himself as well as his dad in this book. They were Spaceboy Pete & Spaceman James. They owned a spaceship & decided to go into space to help people in danger. They ended up on the planet of Googley Woogley where there were 2 types of aliens that were fighting. They helped the good aliens out & became the Heroes of Googley Woogley.

My children aged 6 & 7 1/2 enjoyed this book. I do think that Amazon's recommended age of 9-12 is a bit too old. I think this book is more geared towards the younger aged children like mine. I would recommend this to that age group.

The Heroes of Googley Woogley is the second book by seven-year-old Dalton James, and it's just as good as the first. The adventures this imaginative boy writes about him and his father will make you grin from beginning to ending! What fun!

My granddaughter Mikki brought Devon (my own two-year-old, going on three) down for a Sunday visit with Grammy, so I finally got the chance to read the first one, The Sneakiest Pirates, to him. I'll save this one for later, letting his own creative imagination think about the first one awhile.

When PIRATES left off, Pirate Pete was ready to don Rock Star personnas for him and his father. I was a a little disappointed that Dalton James didn't share that imaginative adventure in this book. Instead, he told his fans that they had made lots of money as Rock Stars and spent it to become Astronauts.

Then his active imagination dove right into the Asronaut mode with such a detailed story and whimsical illustrations that I was instantly absorbed. This story starts with Spaceboy Pete and Spaceman James rocketing into a cartoonish outer space to save the day. You will LOL when you read the names of his aliens: Soo Doos and Soo Don'ts. hehehe

The Soo Doos are the "good guys" and the Soo Don'ts the "bad guys," of course. And just how will these father/son superheroes save the galaxy on this adventure? This author's clever imagination finds an effective, yet hilarious solution, but I can't tell you that without giving Dalton James's enchanting story away.

This is a simple story of good vs evil, with good triumphing; a rare, realistic glimpse into the inner workings of an innocent boy's mind. Except for the first drawing, in which he "chubbies up" his characters' legs, Dalton uses stick figures throughout the story. Simply charming!

As this story ends, little Pete is already planning their next adventure where they will be scientists. Wow!

I wish that Dalton James would write about ten in this series before his mind matures and he's on to more advanced writing. I'm sure other readers would like a collection for their young ones, as I would for Devon...and now for our brand-new Melissa.

Young Dalton, if you are listening, please write all about your Rock Star adventure. Perhaps that book could follow your scientific adventure? Pretty please with sugar on it. Hmmmmm...

Now if those who read these reviews don't mind, I'm going to emphasize what I wrote in my review of The Sneakiest Pirates:

I recommend The Heroes of Googley Woogley for the youngest readers (and for parents to read to those too young to read). It will also be great for school libraries because Dalton James will be in inspiration for other students to try the arts of writing and illustrating.

Endnote: One of Dalton's illustrations is used on the very attractive cover. Although the text is relatively short, only twenty pages, and is staple-bound, it's still a very well-constructed book. I would give this book only four stars because of the high cost, but that might reflect on Dalton's skill, so I can't do it. He's awesome!

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, May 2009
Author of: "The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley"

Welcome to the second in the father-son adventure series by Dalton James. This story takes off where the first story "The Sneakiest Pirates" left off. Pete and James become spacemen and take off in search of adventure. Along the way they are able to non-violently conquer the bad guys and complete their humanitarian mission of hope. Dalton continues writing and illustrating his own books as only an eight year old with an amazing imagination can do. This book is not only a great story for children to read, it is a great motivation for children to imagine and write their own stories. Look for the third in the series to come in the near future..."Super Pete Saves the Day...Ta Da Ta Da".

This book is about a boy and his dad and their adventure in imagination and fun. I liked it because it is funny and a great story for little readers.
McKenzie---age 9

This adventure story of a Dad and son on their second recorded escapde is even better than the first. We still see first hand the working of an imagination. Yet, the detail is not typical for the 8 years of age. There is no dwelling on weapons and violence but a resolution to wrong doing. How refreshing to see a child's imagination that is thinking of compassionate acts. I believe children will enjoy the story and illustrations and parents will appreciate the "life lesson". Linda Ledford