"We learned more from the movie last night than these books tell us!"
I Think My Brother is a Werewolf by JB Mounteer Trafford Publishing
book review by Laura Roberts
"We learned more from the movie last night than these books tell us!"
Meant for third grade or younger students, the book follows a group of horror movie-obsessed friends who take their belief in the supernatural too far. Jorey Jakob and his friends Porto Pertmeyer and Timmy Turken rent the scariest film of the year, The Werewolves' Revenge, during a sleepover at Jorey's house. Jorey is terrified of werewolves, but tries not to let his fear get the best of him. Nevertheless, at the end of the movie, all three are scared of their own shadows and become convinced that Jorey's older brother, Jaden, is turning into a werewolf.
While these pre-teens seem quite confused about puberty, and their attempts to save Jaden from his hairy fate by shaving his mustache in his sleep are comical, the premise strays from the norm. Third graders may be naïve, but this books paints them more as ignorant and even stupid, rather than simply carried away by their imaginations. They don't know much about werewolves, either, despite their interest in (and terror of) the horror movie genre, and go to the library for books on the subject, rather than doing some quick Internet research. Finally, the surprise ending drops off immediately, leaving readers without any resolution. Why will Jaden's fate also await Jorey? If the reader is as confused about young adult changes as these three friends, the ending fails to inform them about this necessary transformation.