Small Steps by Louis Sachar Gets a Character Score of 77 from Discovery Journey

Discovery Journey offers a unique combination of ingredients creating the “recipes” for building character and values in families, schools, neighborhoods and more. In one site, Discovery Journey includes children’s book reviews, movie reviews, and ideas for relaxation time with family and friends. This review summarizes the review of the book Small Steps by Louis Sachar.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 11, 2006 -- Small Steps, the sequel to Holes by Louis Sachar is now available in hardcover and parents may wonder if it is appropriate for their children to read. Discovery Journey takes the guess work out of these ratings by evaluating the content of children’s books and movies for positive and negative examples of the following ten traits: self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith. The more strongly a book or movie presents these values-oriented messages, the higher it scores. Points are deducted for negative behavioral influences, such as violence, bad language, nudity, sexual content, scary elements, and the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The result is a Character Score, ranging from zero to 100 that parents can use to select media that have integral values messages.

The result of the recent book review generated a Character Score of 77 as follows:

Character Traits
Self-Discipline: 4 Stars   
Compassion: 5 Stars   
Responsibility:   4 Stars   
Friendship: 5 Stars   
Work: 4 stars   
Courage: 4 stars   
Perseverance: 5 stars   
Honesty: 3 stars       
Loyalty: 4 stars       
Faith: 3 stars

Absence of Influence   
Violence: 5 stars
Language: 6 stars
Nudity: 6 stars
Sexual: 5 stars
Drugs/Alcohol: 5 stars
Scary: 5 stars
Bad Behavior: 4 stars   

Suggested Ages: Discovery Journey recommends this book for readers of age 10 to 14.

Messages: It isn't easy to stay on the straight and narrow when one is a minority. The police and other people often jump to conclusions.(racial profiling) One can succeed if he tries hard enough. Listen to your gut feelings.

Reviewer's Opinion: Although I enjoyed the book as it is very readable, has lots of action and a good ending, the plot is rather predictable. The author’s purpose seems to be more about pointing out the foibles of our society, especially that of Austin, Texas. I did get a hoot out of some of the characterizations since Austin is my hometown, although I am not sure they are particularly accurate. The book is intended for readers ten and above for good reason. There are some mature topics such as adultery and romance. Overall, it is a quick read, and one middle school students will find engaging.

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Susan Sitton co-founded Discovery Journey with her husband, Brent. Today, Susan Sitton helps lead the Discovery Journey team of 12 caring, dedicated "guides" with a combined total of 172 years of classroom experience and 18 college degrees among them. Discovery Journey previews new books, reviews new movies, provides entertaining activities and ideas for a variety of situations, and offers general tips for quality family life -- at the touch of a button day or night through www.discoveryjourney.com. Susan is a magna cum laude graduate of Texas Christian University. Her previous professional experience was as marketing and membership director for several trade associations. Susan is the mother of triplets and a toddler.

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