Harold Peabody & the Magic Glasses

By: Dawn Kopman Whidden, O.M. Faye

Narrated by: Damien Alameda

Harold dreams of being a hero like his father, a Navy SEAL, but - he is what you might call an easy target. He’s short, he’s almost legally blind, and he’s the new kid in town! When the biggest bully in school smashes Harold’s glasses and he has to get a new pair, something amazing happens.

Suddenly, Harold can see anyone’s greatest fear. Do you know what this means? R-E-V-E-N-G-E. And it has never tasted so sweet.

One by one, Harold is going to make bullies pay. But in the end, what if Harold becomes the villain in the story...instead of the hero?

©2018 Dawn Kopman Whidden (P)2018 Dawn Kopman Whidden

Loads of fun!

It was so much fun to listen to a children’s book. It’s been a while! I enjoyed the story and the morale it teaches. It’s good to stand up to a bully, but watch out that you don’t become a bully in the bully’s place!

A story of the new kid and bullying

IF you have children in the 8-10 age range, this is a great story about bullying. Harold's father died and the mom and Harold move across country. There is some bullying, magic glasses (of course), revenge and a happy ending. a quick listen, 2.5 hours.

Narration was very good.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

great book

Very well developed story & characters. Narration is great. Kids & adults alike will enjoy this audiobook!

intriguing

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

great for all ages.

Round about lessons on bullying

This was an interesting stray in genres for Whidden. I'm not familiar with O.M. Faye's work but Whidden's usual style is based on a gritty crime series. Having that in mind, I approached this cautiously. I realize the audience is kids 8-10 so I made some preliminary adjustments to my expectations of content. I felt the writing WAS appropriately simplified for a kid audience but there were a few instances were a phrase or vernacular was used that I felt a kid that age just wouldn't get. Again, nothing screamingly obvious though. I've got my critiquer's ears on right now so I'm looking for those kinds of things.

That said, the narrator did a fantastic job with the voices in bringing to life Harold and the wonderful characters in the story. Harold and his mom move across the country to start a new life after his Navy SEAL father passes away. Harold's mother takes them to a town from her childhood so she's familiar with the Old Creole(?) woman nextdoor. Harold isn't the popular outgoing kid he wished he was and has a hard time making friends. After coming to the new school he makes some new friends but also inadvertently becomes the target of the school bullies. Harold must determine how to handle the bullying and ends up crossing some lines along the way learning some tough lessons in the process. The introduction of his new magic glasses give it a bit of a supernatural flavor and its subtle enough that it doesn't feel goofy or preposterous. The story is peppered with a few pets which gives the story some added charm for kids listening.

I've been the unpopular kid who's been bullied from time to time, and I've raised a child who dealt with bullying too so it's a theme that resonates for many of us. You want to feel for Harold and you want to root for him even when he's crossing over to the dark side so to speak but you hope he does the right thing in the end. The glasses and the mysterious legends of the south add a whimsy to the story that's relevant to the intended audience.

While the story is definitely relevant to grammar school kids, some of the vocabulary and dialogue doesn't always emulate how kids would talk or be talked to at that age so I'm curious how a grade school child might receive the story.

The moral of the story is obvious but the point isn't driven home in a finger-waggy kind of way. It's a nice way to say, you can become a bully without even intending to....always be mindful to how you treat others. Revenge is never a means to an end.