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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 16 customer reviews )
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3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Great Imagination! Aug 07, 2008
By Shirley Priscilla Johnson
"Author/Reviewer - Florida"
In this adorable read we meet our two very interesting main characters, Fiscal Pear, who is of course a pear, but one who has grown arms and legs, and Shimmer, a lightning bug. Sounds like a strange duo? Hold on you haven't heard anything yet.
As we begin the story we are told of a little village that has several bakeries, The Bakery of Apples, The Bakery of Blueberries, the Bakery of Cherries, the Bakery of Peaches, and the Bakery of Pears. Everyday they make delicious bake good for the villagers, but there is one problem. The evil owner of the Bakery of Pears is not happy when all of her customers pass her by for the other Bakeries. What will this evil baker do?
She decides that something must be done and she gets in touch with the very evil, Butt Rott Root. The name alone should send shivers down your spine. This evil slimy thing teams up with, Cutter, his name describes him quite well, and devises a plan, that includes kidnapping Fiscal Pear, to put all the other Bakeries out of business. Now the adventure beings.
I have to say that our author has let her imagination go wild in this wonderful book, and the reader will be pulled into her world of fantasy. The storyline is quick moving, sure to keep any readers attention, and the characters are both good and evil, endearing and frightening. There is a hint of mystery as the story moves along, as all of your questions on just why Fiscal Pear has arms and legs, and what his purpose is in the world is is not answered, at least not in this book. Good touch. There is adventure, friendship, excitement all merging with just the right mix to make one enjoyable read.
I loved this book. It is definitely different, imaginative, and one that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Great book! Highly recommended.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Lots of imagination and fun Jul 30, 2008
By Billie Jo Kariher-dyer
"India's Mom"
Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the Call of River Whale
By Olivia Brooks-Scrivanich
ISBN: 1-4196-9589-4
As a reader I will admit that the title of this book caught my attention and was one of the main reasons that I decided to read this book. It just sounded silly. I kept wondering why the Pear was named Fiscal Pear. (The book does not directly answer this question by the way you just have to ponder it awhile after reading the book.) Now very quickly you realize that this book is not a slick new replica of Harry Potter or some other children's best seller. It is a book that seems to come from bits and pieces of the Authors everyday life added to a fantasy battle between good and evil.
The characters are very simply written and not a lot of time is spent on character and story development. The writing is clear, concise, and gets to the point. The main thing that came to me as I was reading it was that I would feel completely at ease reading it aloud to a group of kids around the campfire on their first group camp-out. I found myself throughout the story imagining myself being the story teller by the fire passing this cute tale along to giggling, wiggling, 8, 9, and 10 year olds. In this book anything can happen. That is the main thing that I think this book has to offer. The story is not confined to rules. The story shifts to become what it needs to become to reach its destination.
The characters in this book find themselves able to accomplish much more than they had anticipated and that help is available to them if they just seek it out. These are important lessons that everyone needs to learn and remember. If as a reader you are looking for something that is unique and out of the ordinary I think you will find it with this book.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 I would have liked the book better if the front end were beefed up so I could have eased into the story with less effort. Jul 29, 2008
By Marci Twain
This book was OK. It was not a masterpiece, nor was it a finely honed short story that fell short of being a masterpiece. What it seemed to me to be was an attempt at a book from a first-time author that has quite an imagination. I thought of the classic book "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll as I read about Fiscal Pear. This book clearly had potential.
I would have liked it better if the front end were beefed up so I could have eased into the story with less effort. As it was, I had to skim the book once to get a feel for it. And then I went back and read it more closely. The extensive italic text was a bit of an annoyance for me. And I don't know why the paragraphs were so long at times. Some were really long. However, my biggest gripe with the book was the overuse of complex sentence structures. There were way too many comas included, and sentences requiring comas.
There were quite a few characters included in this short story or childrens' novel: Fiscal Pear, Shimmer, SOL, River Whale, Olie Owl, Bakery of Pears, Cutter, and Butt Rott Root, to name most of them. And what an odd collection of characters! We meet a pear, lightning bug, shear of light, whale, owl, building, knife, and tree root. But after I got a hang of what was going on by skimming the book first, I found the story to be somewhat interesting. But there is more to a story than the story. The words, the sentence structure, the outline - all these things are what make a book good or bad. Unfortunately this book could have used a few more drafts before it was published. At least that is my humble opinion. 3 stars!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An action-filled adventure suitable for kids of all ages Jul 22, 2008
By Lori Robson
"Robbsong"
It's seriously a hard-knock life for a pear.
Poor little Fiscal Pear gets tangled up in a wild web of confusion in this adventurous tale of heroes and villains. Starring a motley cast of unusual characters and unlikely saviors, the story finds the fruit in a crosshairs of a scissor-happy fiend who wishes to enhance the business of the Bakery of Pears by using the little guy as a walking, talking attraction (as opposed to an integral ingredient in a delicious pie). But his lightning bug buddy Shimmer, along with several other odd land-dwellers, are bound and determined to keep him out of their foes' grasp, no matter what it takes.
Brooks-Scrivanich's simple, straight-forward writing makes this quick read ideal for youngsters who are refining their reading skills. Though the detail of some characters and settings are lacking, most of the story can be pictured immaculately by the reader as the chaos progresses. But, as most stories go, there is a happy ending for our heroes, delivering a valuable lesson in friendship and trust.
- T.C. Robson
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Fiscal Pear Rocks! Jun 30, 2008
By G. Brooks
Great read for us adults that want to be kids especially on pool day or beach day). The author really kept me captivated with a cliff hanger between chapters. I can't believe how anxious I was wondering what was going to happen to a pear!!I can't wait to see what happens in Fiscal's next annual adventure...
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