This is a nice children’s story with a good message. My rating: 4.25.

Marty and Manny are muskrat brothers who get displaced by a flood. They end up at a neighborhood yard where the homeowner finds them cute until they start ravishing her garden. She announces, “you don’t belong here” and calls the pest control who captures Marty and releases him far away.

Marty is initially rejected by the other creatures he finds at the wood pond. But then he steps up to help them face a bully that has been harassing them.

Can Marty find a place to belong? Will Marty and Manny get to be together again?

I really enjoyed this sweet story and the message it brings about finding a place to belong and fighting together to face a bully. The illustrations are what I would call colorized pencil sketches. They are not formal or precise but rather charming in their simple, more amateurish tone. I think this would be enjoyed by young children to be read to or to read when they are able. I would share this with my grandchildren ages 3 through 8. I recommend this as a cute book with a good message.

Source: 2019 NetGalley.

I can appreciate the obvious time and effort it took to put this together but unfortunately I was not able to connect with this work thematically.

This is a feel good happy ending story, which feels like it could do with another editing. Some of the text is convoluted, there are a lot of characters to follow, and the pictures might not appeal to children.

I’m on the fence with this book. I liked the story. It was definitely a feel good, happy ending kind of story and it worked. The pictures, being roughly drawn were still really cute and I actually liked them for this story.

What I struggled with was I felt it sometimes was quite wordy where it didn’t need to be. Sometimes it was hard to follow for this reason. As a kids book with a happy ending I think it’s great. Just not for myself and my kids.

*thank you to Netgalley, Christian Faith Publishing and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

1.5 stars.

Gosh I feel bad about this star rating but it is my honest opinion. I think I get what the author is trying to say in this story but it just doesn't work. I feel like this is a rough draft, both in story and the illustrations. There are too many characters and yeah, it just doesn't work for me. I know the author probably put alot of thought into the story but it does need fixing up. Unfortunately this is a pass from me.

What better motivation to engage your kids in reading than to write the book yourself and share your working experience in a simple story with deeper lessons and social meaning.
Well a bedtime story will never be boring after this.
Dad, turned author, had a good idea for his tale set in the animal kingdom and his most important decision was to get a wonderful illustrator on board with the project.
Write wha you know - pest control then spread the love and redefine pest. The unwanted, the displaced and the difference to improving life for the forest inhabitants.
Now you grown ups. Listen carefully what lessons do you see. Now forget about these values you attribute and ask the kids about the story.
Please don’t be put off by the Christian Faith Publisher. There is not a hidden agenda here; no sermonising and subliminal messages. The meaning lies in the social dimensions here. The animal kingdom is not a perfect mirror of humanity but compared to how the brother Muskrats find fresh friends and a new environment to flourish in the forest. In our communities we find many reasons for not allowing minorities to feel they do not belong. Life’s problems for society go deeper than overcoming a raccoon or two. Unless we work together the world’s problems may never be resolved and without harmony, chaos reigns.

This is a cute book with an great life lesson; Never judge anyone until you get to know them. A story about feeling left out and then meeting new people and making friends. Thank you Christian Faith Publishing via NetGalley for the copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.