Look and Find: Moana Book Review

Book Review
Look and Find: Disney Moana
Adapted by Emily Skwish
Illustrated by Art Mawhinney
Published September 1, 2016

Why we chose this book:
T loves seek and find books, and we already had an excellent fit with a TMNT one from Phoenix International Publications. A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Mom's Review

A well-written seek and find book that is an enjoyable read for me and an enjoyable challenge for T.

T and I still have some disagreements about book selections. He gravitates toward certain topics, authors, or characters. It's the latter that can cause minor battles. He wants Turtles, Batman, or Disney characters. I often don't, because I find them to be poorly written. In contrast to many trademarked character books, Look and Find: Moana is one we enthusiastically agree on. Between the elevated vocabulary (amid, emerge, nautical) and complex, varied sentence structure, the language is just what I want for my little one. And Moana is just what my little one wants. Add to that a challenging, but not frustrating, activity that cultivates attention to detail and concentration, and you've got an all around winner.

Each two-page spread features a portion of the story and a prompt to find particular characters or items (pictured) on the page. The seek and find level of difficulty is perfect for T right now, and the format of the book allows for growth. In the back are further items and characters to locate, but the challenge is greater: you have to remember them as you find the page they are on, and then you find them on that page. One needn't have seen Moana to understand the plot; the story is complete and makes sense even if you are unfamiliar with the film. In short, the Hawaiian princess Moana feels drawn to explore. She does so, finds the demigod Maui, has adventures, and rescues her island in the process. Her adventures center around returning the stolen heart of a goddess who has transformed into a lava monster. Also worth noting: here is a Disney princess of color who does the rescuing herself and has no love interest.

T loves Look and Find: Moana, even though he doesn't like the movie Moana. To give you an idea of how much he's had me read it, I'll just say that I've been quoting the book for about a week now.  Although T doesn't like the movie and never wants to see it again because he is afraid of the lava monster, his favorite part of the book is the lava monster!

Son's Review
(Age: 4)

Mom: What do you like about Look and Find: Moana?

Son: I like that it's scary because of the demon Te Ka.

Mom: Is it hard to find the pictures or easy or a bit of both? Tell me more...

Son: A bit of both. Because at first I can't find it, but then I find it.

Mom: What's the best part?

Son: The best part is the best part. That best part is the scary part because I like Moana and I like the scary part where it actually shows you a picture of Te Ka, not just a tattoo or not just a frame of Te Ka.

Mom: Who do you think would like Moana?

Son: Anyone who likes scary things like demons.

Mom: Do you think Moana was brave? Why?

Son: Yeah. Because she was a little bit nervous but feeled like she could do it. Defeat the demon Te Ka.

Mom: Are you ever like Moana? What can you learn from her?

Son: Yeah because sometimes I'm brave to go to farm school. That being brave is a good thing because I like being brave.

Mom: What if you could meet her?

Son: I would say, "I like scary stories too, like Gramma Tala's, and when I'm going to farm school I am brave." That's what I would tell her.

Mom: Tell me what you think of Maui. What would you say to him?

Son: I think he's strange because he has tattoos that move all over him. All except his face, weird. I would say, "I can defeat Kakamora as quick as a flash because I'm brave and I'm bigger than them so I could defeat them if they were real."

Mom: If you could change into an animal, what would it be? Why?

Son: It would be a monster because monsters are hideous and that would be how I would protect myself, by transforming into a monster.

Mom: Do you like the pictures? What do you like? ... Do you have a favorite page? Why?

Son: Yes. I like that it's about a demon Te Ka...Of course. I'll show you it right now. - It's this one. Like to see it? >>>>>>>

Mom: Oh yes! Why do you like that one? Which one is your favorite baby?

Son: Because I think it was weird how they had so many babies...MOANA!

Mom: That's all the babies from the village. Not one family.

Mom: When is it a good time to read Moana?

Son: When I feel brave.

Mom: Who should read it?

Son: Anyone who likes being brave!