A Small Snail and an Even Smaller Ant x 2

I really like the author Avi. I've read several of his books and have enjoyed them thoroughly. And so when these two little books came along - The End of the Beginning and A Beginning, A Muddle, and An End - I snatched them up. While on vacation this week, I eagerly sucked them up in a couple of hours.

And then I spit them back out.

Oh, Avi! What happened?

Back in college, I was forced to read Waiting for Godot. I say "forced" because it was an assignment. And I assure you that is the only reason I read it. For me, it could have been more appropriately named I'm Waiting to Go Die. A slow painful death it would be. Granted, this is only my opinion. But sadly, it's the same opinion I have of these books.

What we have with these two little books is two little characters (nice enough) who go essentially nowhere, do essentially nothing, and grow essentially not at all. They are the literary version of Seinfeld, the show about nothing. They are full of philosophical musings, puns, and plays on words - enough to choke a horse. You could almost hear the drum's "ba-dum, ba-dum, bum...chhhh" in the background.

Avi, where are the interesting characters, the surprise twists, the rich description? Where is the stinkin' plot, for crying out loud?

Booklist, Parenting Magazine, and School Library Journal all had nice things to say on the back cover. Are these people in touch with kids at all? I think my students would hate these. I'd ask some of the kids to read them, but I think they'd expect some kind of payoff at the end.

I give these books two thumbs down. I'd give them worse...but I've only got two thumbs.