A little boy goes searching for (and discovers) magical encounters in a mysterious and beautiful forest. Self-esteem mumbo jumbo, trite psycho-babble, New Age philosophy for kids. Yes, it's important for children to learn how to discern true and false voices. Yes, it's important for children to have courage and step out to follow a dream. Yes, it's important for children to face up to irrational fears. But the other messages in this book about where to find truth and answers are speculative and subjective--and don't lead to life or the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Beautiful illustrations, however.

I thought that this book was quite charming and I can see it becoming a firm favourite.
The images were lovely - 4 stars from me.

Overall: ?/5
Writing: ?
Illustrations: 5/5 (Beautiful!)
Cover: 5/5
Appealing: ?/5

At first I was attracted by the gorgeous cover, but later after reading the first page, I knew I couldn't write this review on my own. This book is for kids waaaaaayyyy younger. So, I asked my younger sister (currently 10 years old) to read it for me. (that's fairer than me reading and judging it since that I couldn't finish it. The writing was too childish for me. Sorry.) We both loved the illustrations, which were really fascinating, colorful, magical, and fairly attractive that young readers will definitely fell in love with them. As for the story and writing, I hereby apologize that my sister, too, failed to complete this reviewing mission. Perhaps 10 years old are too old for this book too, and I sincerely apologize for being unable to find another kid to provide a more accurate insight of reading this book, for that I simply cannot provide reflections on a book that I didn't finish myself because of my age. (I believe it is unfair for the book and the author.)

The Magical Forest by Amparo Polanco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sorry everybody…but I had to DNF this one…which I never do as a rule. This one was just really weird for me. It was some weird cross between a picture book and a beginning chapter book. It was too long to be a picture book, but the simplistic language, pictures and length made it unlikely to be a chapter book either. I also hated how this was written. Children may enjoy it and not care, but for me, it seemed like it was a very very poor translation. And if it was, the translator needs to be shot or some crap because that is a poor reflection on the author who probably wrote a good book in his own language. It was written simplistically and with a ton of random and unnecessary repetition. The sentences didn’t make sense and neither did the placing and wordage of the dialogue. I felt that the story itself and what the main character was “searching for” was clichéd and I just didn’t care. The only thing I liked were the illustrations; they were stunning.

A young boy named Wayta has come from far away to check out the forest when he meets another boy, Penjaga, who turns out is the guardian of the jungle.
The opening poem starts with the forest itself saying what it is—mountains, river, etc.—before ending with the classic “We are one, we should play together.” This leads to a beautiful if somewhat overdone painting of a rain forest that foreshadows the coming chapter, as happens throughout the book.
There are some lines that come across as clichés—like “Hear the voice of your heart, your voice will guide you”—but since this might be the first time a kid is reading it, that’s okay. Another is, “Be patient, brave, and have faith in yourself.” Plus be pure of heart, clear of mind, and expect the unexpected. Only by learning each lesson will he—and you—find the magical places he seeks. Much more philosophical than expected, but still at a level that children can understand.
Probably intended as a textbook, since it has discussion questions after each chapter.
Accompanying music is also available.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

I'm sure this book will appeal to some one. Just wasn't all that interesting to me. An the study questions after every chapter... I dont know; just not my cup of tea.maybe it lost something in translation?

Not a fan of this book. I was hyped by the cover but the story is too long. Plus with discussion questions after each “chapter”. Not for me.

Added Goodreads
Added Litsy

Although I wasn't a huge fan of this book, I think that children will really like the story. It is a cross between a picture book, and a beginner chapter book. After each chapter which is about one to three pages long on my Kindle, there is a set of questions for the child(ren) to answer. This makes it a perfect book for use in classrooms because it will get the children reading it to think about what they just read, and it also asks them what hey feel. The illustrations are very colorful and vivid.

Even though I didn't really like it, I would recommend it.

Not what I was expecting seemed a bit odd for a child's book. Little one wasn't too interested and was wondering why there wasn't more animals and pictures. Seemed to have okish value lessonsother then that don't think we'll be rereading this one.