Puffy And The Formidable Foe Analysis

Puffy and the Formidable Foe is a folk tale that was written by Marie Lepkowski, Ann Hannon, and Margaret Hannon. The tale is a picture book for toddlers consists of about 20 pages. This copy is the third edition that was published by the Xlibris in November 2016.
The tale is talking about a cat named Puffy who played around his owner’s house to haunt a rat. With his engagement with playing, the cat found himself tired and away from the house, so he decided to rest beneath the mushroom hoods. In the meanwhile, a strange animal showed up. Puffy thought the animal was a cat either, but with a bad smell. The new cat attacked Puffy with a very smelly whiff. Puffy instantly returned home with stinky hair that its odor is difficult to get rid of. His owner took care of him and bathed him with a special shampoo for such smell. At the end of the tale, Puffy learned how to
differ between a cat and a Skunk which was the animal that attacked him. He also learned a lesson of not leaving the house again anymore so he will not face troubles in the future… he was grateful for his safe return and faithful for the saying “There is no better place than home”!
The goal of the tale was clear, obvious and preaching. The writers lecture the children subconsciously about the consequences of leaving their houses without their parents’ permission. The tale notifies them to their innocence and their unawareness of the external world which is full of surprises and risks that they did not learn about yet. The tale is oriented largely towards the adventurous child who has an urgent desire to see the world behind her/his house fences.
In spite of the considerable objective of the tale, it contradicts with the necessity of encouraging our children to the curiosity and to the passion of discovery.
It is fundamental to teach our children asking questions and gaining knowledge. It is beautiful to be adventurous and brave. I am concerned of the negative effect of the tale that it might plant the fear of the external world. Therefore, I suggest the writers to submit their book to a children psychologist who has the right opinion in such case.
Additionally, I have some remarks about the language and the design of the book. In the case of the language, I noticed that the vocabulary were used is somehow difficult for the children. I believe that replacing some words such as “ensue, obscene, and scampered” with more familiar words would make the reading more enjoyable. About the book design, I find it unpleasant and unorganized. The drawings are beautiful but still need more arrangement and color study.
To sum up, I rate the book 2 out of 4 stars. It has a clear great tale but it will be greater if you took my observations in your
consideration.