BOOK REVIEW: The One Thing I Know

TITLE: The One Thing I Know
AUTHOR: Matthew Lyons
PUBLISHED BY: Olympia Publishing

The synopsis provided on the back of this story book is “A young boy’s vivid imagination of castles, cars and adventure, accompanies his narration of first-time live events. In one magical evening, his newfound abilities show his parents the real adventure has just begun”.

The book is a compact size with a short story and brightly coloured, animated illustrations.

I’m not sure what age level the story is intended for as it sweeps from the main character being a toddler to a young adult.

The script is very American in places, with words such as ‘Mommy’ spelt the American way and references to baseball which may not endear English readers to it.

Unfortunately, at times the text reads as though it has been translated from a different language as it doesn’t read as an English narrative would.

Regrettably, I didn’t really ‘get’ the story and after reading it I felt at a loss to understand the premise or the meaning of it. The story feels to me as though it is the author’s very personal recollections of his son and family life.

One thing I did take away from the story is that it emphasises the values, importance and pleasures of family life.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard