Have you ever tried to get a child’s attention while they are playing their favorite video game? If you have then you know sometimes that can be a nearly impossible feat. There could be a flood, fire, or such, and the child would remain calmly seated in front of the television playing the game. At times, it seems as if the child has completely shut off the outside world and somehow traveled through the television or computer screen, inside the game itself.
Recently, I witnessed this exact behavior while my friend’s eight-year-old daughter was playing a video game called Minecraft. She would sit for hours upon hours, if she were allowed, entranced by this game. So, when I discovered a book based on Minecraft, I knew I had to read it.
When I read this book I had a very simple knowledge of the content of the game. My knowledge basically consisted of what my friend’s daughter had previously told me. In a nutshell, your player’s character breaks blocks, mines for different tools and resources needed to build structures, animal pens, weapons, body armor, and more in order to progress in the game. There are many different lands within the game where your character can explore and interact with other gamers (online). Along the way your character may run into spiders, zombies, and other monsters that you can kill using different resources.
Flynn’s Log 1: Rescue Island, by Stone Marshall, is a clever book based upon the Minecraft video game. Marshall is able to turn the video game into a fast-paced and action-packed book that kids and adults of all ages will enjoy. From the first page the author forms the story around the behavior of those playing the actual Minecraft video game. Flynn the main character, once a real person, awakens to find himself inside the game in pixelated form. He has become the character that he plays from his computer each day. Flynn begins to keep a daily log of his experiences inside the Minecraft game. He is now forced to use all of the skills he has learned playing as a human to survive as a character living inside the game. During the course of the book he experiences a lot of what a person playing the game would. Flynn is challenged to build a shelter, find food, travel to different lands, interact with other characters, and battle the monsters he stumbles into.
The overall concept is surprisingly genius on the part of the author, as it plays on the obvious fantasy of many different gamers. What child would not love to be sent into the world of their favorite game and be a part of the action? Even as someone who has never actually played Mine Craft, for more than five minutes, I was thoroughly entertained and able to follow this book clearly. Marshall brings the Minecraft game alive in this short 72 page children’s book. The first book is available for free on most android devices but the next three books are not. So, parents should be aware that the first story ends in a ‘to be continued’ type fashion and your child will probably want to read the next books.
Flynn’s Log 1: Rescue Island, is a great book for children or anyone who is interested in learning more about the content of the Mine Craft games. This book grabs the reader’s attention on the first page and holds on tight until the last.
Rescue Island
by Stone Marshall
