MacKenzie Goes Adventuring by J.L. Baumann Book Review

MacKenzie Goes Adventuring by J.L. Baumann and illustrated by Gabriel Roman is an adorable children’s book set in singsong verse with delightful illustrations. An adventure begins when little MacKenzie and her friend fail to heed the warnings of their teacher and instead take a different path home. Post Mortem Publications, Inc. | March 7, 2017 | Paperback | 92 pp

Welcome to Snookton!

In MacKenzie goes Adventuring, Snookton is revealed as an ideal, cozy town not unlike Whoville in the beloved books by Dr. Seuss. Elflike in appearance with pointy ears, the little Snookies are warned by the teacher at the end of the day to go straight home lest they get caught by the dangerous Snarfle who might put them in his sack and take them away to become his supper.

But MacKenzie has another idea. She wants to take a path through the park, convinced it will be a shorter walk home, and she takes her new friend with her. They get distracted by all of the wild creatures on the path and soon a wind kicks up, the sun is blotted out, and a terrible growling is heard nearby. The Snarfle is coming! This is only the start of their adventures and a new world is discovered.

The story is told in poetic verse which makes this a sincerely enjoyable book to read aloud with your children. And similar to the storytelling features of Whoville or The Smurfs, their name (Snookies) is prominently integrated into conversations and as adjuncts to many common words. While The Smurfs would simply replace certain verbs with the word Smurf, otherwise known as ‘Smurfing’, MacKenzie goes Adventuring is more closely related to the composition of Dr. Suess with the word Snookie or variants being appended to existing words rather than replacing them entirely.

My daughter loved the illustrations and as we snuggled in close, and after each page was read, she described the images to me and told her own story.

The full audio/visual reading has been uploaded by the author:

MacKenzie goes Adventuring is a fantastic addition to a child’s library and is highly recommended to school libraries.