"For a six year old boy dreams are all that mattered."
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Cookie Planet by Sharon A. Ortegon Trafford Publishing
book review by Maria A. Hughes
Einstein once said that, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Ortegon's book embodies this message through the characters of Vincent and Maggie, childhood friends who use their imagination to travel through space in a pink rocket to a place called Cookie Planet. Since they are unfamiliar with their surroundings, they ask a cookie person to guide them. While there, they see trees, houses, and cars made of cookies and rivers of milk. The children eat and drink to their hearts content until both they both have to go home. Vincent and Maggie's adventure is captured nicely through vibrant color pencil illustrations and lettering.
The author expresses the beauty of an uninhibited imagination that explores the creative potential in a fun and exciting way that will appeal to children and captivate their thoughts. Ortegon's story promotes children to nurture their own fantastical views of life as a way of encouraging discovery, curiosity, thinking outside of normal convention, and remaining youthful.
While the concept of the story is original and entertaining, the book contains from redundant sentences, misused words, and missing punctuation that makes the text confusing at times. Additionally, the story is relatively straightforward with little complexity. Yes, Vincent and Maggie get a tummy ache from gorging on cookies, but this is not a book that teaches a child about a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.