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Patrick Shannon

Författare till Viva Cisco

17 verk 89 medlemmar 7 recensioner

Verk av Patrick Shannon

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Kort biografi
Patrick Shannon, author of the young reader's book, Viva Cisco, currently resides in Conrad, Montana. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, he worked thirty-three years for a major oil company, bringing him rich experiences from traveling in Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. Born and raised in Southern California, Shannon attended East Carolina and Oklahoma Universities and UCLA. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi scholarship society.

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The imaginary town of Topopootl lies in a hidden valley of a faraway mountain, deep in the heart of Mexico. This town is filled with animals of all shapes and sizes who live together in harmony away from their human enemy. The story is about Cisco the Parrot , the Answer Man at the Topopootl Public Library, who is bored with his job and wants to be famous. The book is in three parts or short stories which tell about Cisco's adventures with his friends who range from pigs, bears, fish eagles and even cockroaches.

This is a children's book with a unique story based in the forests of Mexico. The characters are vibrant, funny and clever and the skunk story is especially funny. One factor I found inconsistent was that in parts of the book they referred to Cisco's wings as arms, but in other parts it was correct. Other than that I found the stories to be fun and interesting and I think children would like something new for a change.
… (mer)
 
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theeclecticreview | 3 andra recensioner | Apr 29, 2011 |
Viva Cisco is a parrot who lives in the valley of Topopootl (sorry, do not know how to say Topopootl). This parrot has a rather large ego and a desire for fame. Unfortunately, his job is at the Topopootl Public Library as The Answer Man. Now, there is nothing wrong with working in a library. I think it would be a wonderful place to be employed. Most every library is quiet, friendly, comfortable and full of books anyone can read. I think Cisco agreed with all of that until his office was moved to the basement where no one could find him. Many of the questions Cisco receives he responses to with really dumb answers, being more concerned about his own sanity than helping the caller. Eventually he goes off to find better attention getting employment.

In the second of three stories, Cisco decides to become a private eye (PI), to solve the growing numbers of burglaries in his village. Topopootl is which usually very peaceful with those that live there generally not wanting for anything. The villagers are scared. Cisco plays PI in order to catch the rat stealing from his village. Along the way he is helped by two friends who are more dimwitted than dead light bulbs or fireflies that have lost their rear-ends. If this were a movie, story two would be partly slap-stick. In the end Cisco was never needed as a PI. The dirty little rat stealing from the villagers was merely a ”collector” from Mexico.

The final story has Cisco and his friends taking on the task of finding Topopootl’s history. The ancient writings, telling the story of the animal’s problems with humans, are uncovered along with an unexpected discovering involving all the skunks. Turns out the skunks in Topopootl are not the little stinkers their biology has us believing.

Mr. Shannon has written very imaginative stories, vividly. At times, he writes a tremendous amount of dialogue in a row which keeps the story moving quickly, but who is speaking can be confusing if not closely paying attention, because of the same quickness. I personally did not like the stories and there is no reason for that except personal preference. Mr. Shannon is a good story teller and he has a vivid imagination. I normally love those two things in a movie and especially in a book. I even like stories with talking animals in a suspended world. There was something that threw me which I find hard to explain. For that reason, check this book of three stories out and decide for yourself.

Received from readthebook.com, courtesy of the author
… (mer)
 
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smmorris | 3 andra recensioner | Apr 27, 2011 |
I enjoyed reading this book. I laughed out loud often, even when my stepdad was in the room. And I liked that. The story is told in letters that are sent which relay stories from the small town that are being sent to a friend who wants to write a book. It doesn't have the arching type of plot or plot-line and part of that comes from the fact that this is a little like a creative nonfiction book with a bit more fiction. The one issue I had with the novel was that it just sort of ends at random. All of a sudden it's over and I wish there was a paragraph or so that felt more like a conclusion.

Still, I liked the book, overall. The voice, the little stories, and the humor were very enjoyable. I definitely recommend this book for people who have lived in small towns, especially in the west, though I bet others will enjoy reading it too.
… (mer)
 
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DawnEmbers | 1 annan recension | Mar 31, 2011 |
The epistolary format is a good fit for this folksy tale. The anecdotes seem a bit too folksy in parts and seem to be condescending to the small town people’s ignorance or gullibility (e.g., Columbia University in New York as the source of drugs; sex-starved and naïf Reverend Sycamore).

The book ended rather abruptly, without any indication of it being Fred’s last letter to Amelia. There was no closing to the last letter or any summation. The book ended just as did the episodic chapters and sections.

The author incorporated humor throughout the book.

The chapters focusing on the small towns camaraderie or banding together were strongest (“Waving,” “Gus,” “Speed Demons”).

Sex: None
Violence: None
Language: None
… (mer)
½
 
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kimreadthis | 1 annan recension | Mar 28, 2011 |

Priser

Statistik

Verk
17
Medlemmar
89
Popularitet
#207,492
Betyg
3.0
Recensioner
7
ISBN
30

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