Mokey's Birthday Present (A Fraggle Rock Book Starring Jim Henson's Muppets) - Hardcover

ea. vol: (Fraggle Rock Bks.). CIP. Holt. Sept. 1985. PreSchool-Grade 4 Ranging in quality from acceptable to rock bottom, these books lack the quirky inspiration which makes moving Muppets such fun. Generally, the books portray character development through description; focus heavily on a moral; employ unnecessary silly dialogue; and have antic, full-color but minimally varied illustrations. Best of the lot for preschool Fraggle fans is Mokey's Birthday Present. In it, Red gives Mokey a handknit sweater which makes her look like a "pile of stewed tomatoes." By telling Red how she truly feels about the gift, Mokey eventually strengthens their friendship. Mokey's attempts at rationalization are childlike and the text is uncomplicated. Miles' illustrations are more subtle than those in most of the other titles. For primary grade readers, Gobo and the River is a serviceable selection. In it, Gobo is sure that he is doomed to death on Fraggle Rock River, but he comes full circle to home. Action-packed and full of amazing creatures, there's plenty of plot, even though there's plenty of verbiage too. Gobo's moral is that one should never give up in the face of disaster. And the publisher hasn't. The remaining five titles in this group are mediocre to awful. Worst of all is Follow that Fraggle, the adventures of Traveling Matt in the human world. The tale changes focus from Matt to Sprocket the dog and relies on a trite joke for its punch line. In other titles, Boober is afraid of ghosts until he meets the ones in his laundry basket (Boober Fraggle's Ghosts); Red learns that dares are dumb when she is nearly lost in The Cave of the Lost Fraggle; at the . . .Festival of the Bells, Mokey feels unappreciated until she learns the spirit of giving; Wembley must be persuaded by his friends that he won't miss any action by sleeping at night (Why Wembley Couldn't Sleep). In all, the values are expressed in a painstakingly heavy-handed fashion. Given these books as evidence, Fraggles are best enjoyed on the screen, not in books. Carolyn Noah, Worcester Public Library, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.