We were recently given the opportunity to review a book written by Annie Tipton titled "Diary of a Real Payne: True Story". This book is recommended for ages 8-12. Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story is 192 pages wrapped up in a colorful, glossy paperback cover for $5.99 from Barbour Publishing.This book is about a 10-year old girl, EJ who has a very wild imagination and is always day-dreaming of a life that is more exciting than the boring little town of Spooner, Wisconsin where she lives.
Each chapter begins with a couple pages from EJ's diary & then the rest of the chapter tells about what is happening in her life. The chapters are fairly short, only about 7 or so pages each, so it should be an easy read for an average reader in the recommended ages.
I read the book aloud for Eli (8) and Everett (3). Everett was only interested in bits and pieces (typical 3 year old!) and wouldn't stick around very long to hear the entire story. Eli was not terribly interested in a book about a girl and we struggled through the book. He said that some of it was funny but didn't like that EJ was "mean" sometimes to her brother. Although the book does have a Christian-theme to it, I didn't care for the fact that the parents really never disciplined EJ for her, sometimes disruptive behavior or disrespectful attitude.
I don't think I would recommend this book for children to read alone, I think it definitely needs some discussion between parents and kids regarding the behavior & attitude issues that are displayed.
