Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Angela Hayes
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Super Enemies by Lois Wickstrom is an illustrated children’s story aimed at children aged 4 to 8. Bear with me while I get my thoughts in order here as I have really wrestled with my thoughts and how to write my review of this book ever since I finished reading it. And looking at some of the other reviews, I also seem to be the only one here with any concerns. So, let me start by saying that I have read quite a few of Ms. Wickstrom’s storybooks now, and generally, love to share them with my grandchildren as well as giving them quite positive reviews. But this one has left me feeling quite conflicted, and isn’t one I am prepared to share with my grandchildren.
Now, how do I voice my opinion in a way that will make sense? Well, I guess I will just wing it and hope my thoughts come across clearly. First of all, I kind of understand what Ms. Wickstrom was trying to achieve with this book- I’m sure she was aiming for a bit of a silly/fun story about sibling rivalry and bonding through play. But unfortunately, it really didn’t come across that way, for me.
The story introduces us to Mira and Carl, siblings who seem to constantly bicker and fight. They never see eye to eye at all, and this story would have made more sense to me if there was some show of or example of conflict resolution- showing young ones how we can have differing opinions, choices, likes/dislikes (you get the picture)- without having to resort to fighting. It was quite draining and a little confronting following Mira and Carl and watching them squabble constantly. I kept thinking why aren’t their parents stepping in and ‘positively parenting’ them. Instead, these two get rewarded for their bad behaviour by being taken to the beach for an outing- where their squabbling just seems to escalate to a whole new destructive level. And again, the parent/s did nothing! I could have accepted the whole thing and understood if the parent HAD stepped in and explained bullying, or even mediated some conflict resolution, or the characters had come to an understanding on their own…. As this would have totally changed my opinion of the story and cast it in a way better light. But that was not the case. I know the author thought it was probably inferred, but with little kids, sometimes these complicated things need to be spelled out. There was no agreement between Mira and Carl through the story to say that they would ‘battle’ for the day. There was no coming to an understanding of it all between them. Yes, earlier they had said she was a villain, and he was a superhero, but I don’t think a young child would have necessarily picked up on that. I really felt for Carl, because Mira was quite nasty in her actions. He was being so creative and diligently building his sandcastles- and she was being violent and destructive. It just came across that Mira was intentionally bullying her brother by destroying everything he built- and bullying is not ok. And it is not ok to even hint to young, impressionable minds that bullying is ok. But, again, I must stress that knowing Ms. Wickstrom’s previous work, I am absolutely certain that this was not her intent- and again, I seem to be the only one with any issues what-so-ever, so you need to take that into perspective here too- and that’s probably part of the reason I am writing this review with a bit of a heavy heart. However, I strongly feel that this story could be interpreted the wrong way and send the wrong message. The fact that the parent/s sat back basically while the children fought and didn’t intervene at all, even when things took a violent turn, and with the bullying/fighting occurring over a lengthy period of time, does give the impression that fighting is ok. And it is not ok. I feel it is a toxic message to be sending our young ones. Yes, we all know that siblings fight, even the closest of siblings can have disagreements- and for me, I would want to use such instances as a teaching/learning moment, especially in (this) a children’s story, by explaining conflict resolution, compromise, the idea of agreeing to disagree, and giving anti-bullying/bullying prevention messages etc. This story could have been a great anti-bully/conflict resolution tool with just a little more thought/development, and I am disappointed for the author that it isn’t. Even one of the pictures shows Mira with a slingshot and rocks ready to take aim at one of Carl’s sandcastles- on a CROWDED beach- and the parents did nothing! Someone could have been severely injured. A slingshot isn’t a ‘toy’- let alone to take to a crowded beach. Let alone to condone firing rocks with it???? Or am I being a little too protective. These things should be used under adult supervision, in a controlled environment- not by a little girl on a crowded beach, firing rocks willy-nilly. Just my opinion though.
I know that Mira and Carl seemed to be ok with it all in the end- but it has sat badly with me. This is not the review I would have wanted to give Ms. Wickstrom, as I said, she has some truly wonderful children’s stories to her name- but I really feel strongly about nurturing young minds in a more positive way and I feel the ‘messages’ in this book could be misconstrued. Yes, conflict is inevitable, but shouldn’t we be teaching our children the right way to handle conflict and disagreements?
I am not writing this review with the intent of insulting the author, as I know she puts her heart and soul into her work. I just felt that this book could send the wrong message… that’s all.
I hope this makes sense…
I have rated this book 3 stars, even though I had issues with it, as I know how much heart and soul this author puts into her work…
Sorry, Ms. Wickstrom, and please don’t hate me for this review- I really did want to love this book as much as your others 💕
Reviewed by @angelahayes
