Power and Glory - Hardcover

Rodda, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688142141 ISBN 13: 9780688142148

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1996

Synopsis

A young boy gets a new video game, Power and Glory, for his birthday, and he's ready to blast the bad guys--if his loving family will just leave him alone! "Observant viewers will notice some humorous similarities between the characters in the video game and the family members who interrupt the fun....The stylized artwork is remarkable for its tremendous energy, coherence of composition, and attention to detail....An unexpected pleasure."--Booklist.

About this title

About the Author

Emily Rodda has written many books for children, including Finders Keepers, which School Library journal dubbed "a lively adventure," and several novels about the likable hero Rowan. The first of these novels, Rowan of Rin, won the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers Award when it was first published. In fact, Emily Rodda has won the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award an unprecedented five times. A former editor, Ms. Rodda is also the best-selling author of adult mysteries under the name Jennifer Rowe. She lives in Australia.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 4?An Australian import that tackles the insidious adolescent pastime and electronic metaphor for social interaction: the video game. With illustrations reminiscent of a Lane Smith/Dan Yaccarino collaboration, Kelly takes Rodda's cumulative story about a boy attempting to play his new video game, the omnipotent sounding "Power and Glory," and taps the contemporary imagination. Amid all the emphatic interruptions from his mother, twin brothers, sister, drooling dog, and dad, the valiant lad tries to give the video witch, goblins, vulture, beast, and ogre a run for their money. This story should elicit strong empathy from the youngsters who can enjoy the visual play of inter-family quibbling and the catharsis of blasting these distractions ("I jump him [the ogre], thump him, thrash him, trash him, mush him, crush him, I defeat him and I win!") by pushing the right buttons. Power and Glory is a big, bold, colorful, and cartoony quest for control over electronic nemeses.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A video game overlaps with family dynamics in this rousing but possibly overstimulating picture book from an Australian author and artist. When the narrator receives the game "Power and Glory" as a birthday present, he begins trying to defeat its lineup of enemies. Yet each time he meets a new villain, a family member cuts in-for "I fight the witch... I fight the witch," for example, his mother, broomstick in hand, orders him off to breakfast ("Game over"). A vulture heralds his sister, dressed in a sweater that echoes the bird's plumage; and so forth. Replaying the game from the beginning after each interruption, Rodda builds up a throbbing rhythm that approximates the intensity of the play. Linocut-style pictograms of game icons appear amid the text, and the typeface changes size and color for emphasis on approaching danger. Full-page futuristic-style paintings, composed of pointillistic fields of hot orange, yellow and green, alternate between family scenes and battles within the video dimension. The subject will be dear to many in the target audience, but some parents might object to the way the violent gaming action ("I jump him, thump him, thrash him, trash him... and I win! YES!!!") spills into the story and pumps up the reader. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-7. Who would have expected a good picture book about video games? Children will sympathize with the young hero when he gets a terrific birthday present, a video game called Power and Glory, and begins to play it right away. Just as he gets involved, though, he has to stop playing: his mother calls him for breakfast, then his brother wants a turn, his big sister wants to watch TV, his dog demands a walk, and his father calls him away. Finally, the whole family watches as he defeats the video enemy. They (and readers) think the show is over, but the boy is poised to begin again: the last page simply reads "Now for Level 2." Each time the boy restarts the game after an interruption, he goes through all the stages and little further, creating a cumulative story within a story. Observant viewers will notice some humorous similarities between the characters in the video game and the family members who interrupt the fun. Reminiscent of Lane Smith's illustrations in spirit, the stylized artwork is remarkable for its tremendous energy, coherence of composition, and attention to detail. Gently rounded forms and spatters of wild colors define the large paintings, while the tiny pictures showing repeated actions in the game ("I walk the path. I climb the wall. I swim the stream. I find the key. I search the cave. . ." ) appear to be bold linocuts washed with bright shades of yellow, green, and magenta. Using type size and color for dramatic effect, the book design brings story and artwork together in a most dynamic way. An unexpected pleasure. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688142141
• ISBN 13: 9780688142148
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32