Customer Reviews

Shrinking Violet

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

 

 

I've just read this to a six year old and a seven year old and we all cried with laughter! Violet is the funniest, pint sized heroine we've ever encountered. Full of action and laugh out loud gags, 'Shrinking Violet' is definitely no shrinking violet. I can imagine that boys might like this one too.

A good, fun story, for younger readers. I'm eleven and I thought that the way it was written would suit someone aged seven to nine. It was a good story, quite funny and a good idea for a story. I liked it but maybe wouldn't have chosen it for myself but because my mum chose it for me I tried it and it was quite readable.

My 6 (nearly 7) year old daughter absolutely loves the book! It's an easy reading, so the child will find herself reading the last chapter before she knows it! I strongly recommend it!

Violet is annoyed by her lack of height, so it's even more annoying when she finds herself shrinking to the size of a fishfinger for the first time. But this also begins an interesting adventure where she becomes a mini-detective (in more than once sense of the word) and solves the crime blamed on her gran.

The book instantly reminded me of Mrs Pepperpot, which I used to read at school myself, all those years ago. It has the same sort of charm, but at the same time has a modern attitude and Violet is certainly a determined girl and a good role model for girls in general.

My 8 year old lapped this book up. The story is so well written that she couldn't wait to get to the next chapter to find out what would happen. Now we can't wait to try out the other Violet books in the series to see what other adventures await the tiny heroine.

In short(!) this book is highly recommended to children everywhere, especially small ones.

My partner read this book to my boys 9&5 and they both enjoyed it. My oldest then read the book himself. . He is not a confident reader but he was happy to read it.

I gave this book to my daughter for Christmas. I read a couple of chapters to her aloud then she took over and read it in a day. She absolutely adored it. It is laugh out loud funny and very sweet as we witness the trials and tribulations of Violet. The author portrays the foibles of adults perfectly and captures everything from the child's perspective. I've already ordered the next in the series and my daughter -- and I -- eagerly await its arrival.

This is a funny, clever book that works for children of a range of ages. A whodunnit set in an old people's home the characters are quirky and likable. It is fun to read aloud and the illustrations and varying fonts are brilliant. I read it to my 6 year old and my 11 year old and it worked for both of them. It's rare to find a book that doesn't dumb down to my older child too much while keeping my younger one amused, but here is one that does just that. Well done Ms. Kuenzler! Bravo.

Shrinking Violet.
By Lou Kuenzler
This book is a delight from the fist to the last word. From the moment our heroine Violet first shrinks Lou Kuenzler draws us into an exciting, sometimes dangerous but often humorous world, seen from the perspective of a girl who shrinks to the the size of a Fish Finger, where she can ride on the back of her pet hamster Hannibal like a Shetland pony.
Violet's beloved Gran is accused of stealing Jewellery at the Sunset Retirement Centre. Violet must solve the mystery and when she shrinks wastes no time and sets to work operating as a miniature spy to find the real thief. However Violet cannot control when she shrinks and when she suddenly grows to her normal height resulting in many hilarious situations.
Without wishing to give away anymore of the plot I will just add that I couldn't put this book down. Lou Kuenzler has finely drawn characters and written a very clever story with twists and turns and red herrings that will keep you guessing right to the very end.
This book would make a wonderful Christmas or birthday gift for a child of 8 + and would defiantly encourage and enhance a child's love of reading.

I ordered Shrinking Violet for my 6 year old daughter who is now reading independently. I loved the cover illustration of a girl the size of a fish finger - this is really concrete visual imagery which will appeal to children. A bit like Mrs Pepperpot, once Violet shrinks she has all sorts of amazing adventures and gets in a few scrapes along the way.

The version I saw was a preview copy, and there weren't that many illustrations in it, which I thought was a shame - but it's possible that the 'real thing' contains a few more than this. Maybe since this book is aimed at slightly older children than mine, it won't matter. My 6 year old found this a little challenging so we read it with her over the course of a good few bedtime stories. She loves Mrs Pepperpot and thought it was really cool that kids could have some tiny fun too :)

I read lots of kids books because I want to write kids books too. But I have to admit that sometimes I struggle with the 8+ market. I can be a bit cloying and dull, especially the really girly stuff. But I loved this book - when I'm being a grown up, I love detective fiction, and this one ticked the box with lots of clues, red herrings, strong, funny characters, baddies and plot twists. It left me with a genuine desire to turn the next page all the way to the end to find out who and how dunnit. Also, and equally importantly, it's really funny. I can imagine boys and girls alike reading this and gobbling it up. Looking forward to the rest in the series.