Ivan Sugarwood
Xulon Press (2006)
ISBN 9781600342752
Reviewed by Brenna Bales (age 11) for Reader Views (7/08)
In “Rebirth of Shavron,” author Ivan Surgarwood introduces us to Gideon of Eldos, Judge of Battle, Deborah of Moran, Judge of Instruction, and Samson of Old Sim, and Judge of Commerce. Instead of people, the author uses a cast of animals to tell the story. Together, with the power of God, they restore their faith that ultimately, God is more powerful than anything, and they are finally able to reclaim Shavron from the horrid fox Queen.
The book has an interesting storyline, but could use some improvement in the time-line going from one chapter to the next. Overall, I felt it was a great story, but the author leaves out what I feel is important information about what other characters are doing when talking about what is happening to another character over a long period of time. It was like a wild ride through time. It went slow at times, but also, at other times it went really slow. There were so many different kinds of animals it made it confusing to keep up with which animal was which character. I also had a hard time understanding what the illustrations meant.
The story itself was confusing, too, and it also seemed to jump around a lot. The power of the Holy One was a little too great and fantasy-like. I know that the book was supposed to be a fantasy, but His power still was a little too much for me.
In my opinion, the author should have created a better time-line. The book can be read by anyone from 5-8 years old, even though it did have some big words.
Although “Rebirth of Shavron” did have some good things, and some funny things, I would only rate the book a 3 out of 5.
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