Despicable Me 4 Movie Novelization Paperback – July 9, 2024

My daughter loves the Minions and is very excited to read this book

As advertised

I really enjoy watching the "Despicable Me" series with the children, and thought it would be fun to have a book-version hanging around for encouraging reading amongst them. While this novelization is a nice reading "hook" with its inviting cover showcasing the well-known engaging characters of Gru and his minions, there are a few flaws that dampen my opinion of this book.Overall, the book is an easy read, as would be suspected from a children's chapter book. It reads like it was meant for second-graders, which is perfectly acceptable and what I had expected. Most of the sentences are simple and not extremely complex, but they generally capture the overall feel of the story and sufficiently describe what happens in the tale. I was able to finish the book in a couple of hours, with occasional interruptions--as life always delivers. The main characters are recognizable to ones we've known from the past films. In contrast, the new faces are barely fleshed out and leave a lot to imagination if one hasn't seen the film (I've only been able to catch a scene or two) or seen a preview. This is unfortunate and could have been handled better.I also will have to say that there are some editing issues. While I did not grab my red pencil and focus on all of the mistakes, there were a couple mistakes even my casual reading caught. First, the story was speaking of Agnes saying goodbye to her beloved goat (sorry, spoilers) and when you would think she was going to hug it, the book wrote that Lucy, her mother, was hugging it instead. Again, I haven't seen all of the film, and this could be accurate, but it seems like a glaring mistake to me. Besides this, I felt like I caught a couple dangling participles hanging about throughout the book, which is so easy to do, but still a sorry miss by the editors.Another drawback of the book that I particularly didn't love: crudeness. I know! I know: the minions are known for their bathroom jokes. However, seeing them quickly go by on a screen, there and gone, is less in-your-face than describing over a couple sentences the split-second gag in words. They even go as far as explaining why it was supposed to be funny. This is cringe-worthy. A joke shouldn't need to be explained. Additionally, "butt" in the narrative is just a low slang language term that I really do not want my children's literature riddled with. While it is more and more acceptable in today's everyday informal language, it is not proper english and I will not accept it. I might have to get out a white-out marker instead.Something also to note is that there are a few actual French words thrown in, as the villain is supposed to be French, which is alright and gives a slight challenge for the young readers. Just be prepared to assist your child in explaining to them what they mean and how they are pronounced.Finally, (HUGE SPOILER ALERT!) I am a little perturbed by the example set by the teenage character Poppy. Her character desires to become a villainess and attend an all-villain school through the means of blackmailing and stealing. However, she shows growth and potential in her desire to help Gru save and protect his family. This seems to perhaps reflect the growth of Gru from villain to hero in a much shorter timespan. HOWEVER, they ruin this by showing that she DOES attend the villain school in the end. All of the beautiful growth is gone in a flash! This is not the best example for already curious and mischievous children to see and possibly emulate. It can be taken somewhat lightly, but I do not think most parents would like their children introduced to the idea that villainy is a real career path for "good" kids.While there are these above-mentioned flaws and other minor inaccuracies to the film that I cannot attest to until I have seen the whole film, the book still was fun and quick to read. It will be a good reading encouragement for non-avid readers or a hilarious romp for the more proficient. As with any book your child reads, it is still worth it to give the book a quick spin for yourself before allowing your young ones to enjoy--perhaps to make sure it really is appropriate, or just for a personal breezy escape into the enjoyable world of Gru and his family.

This is such a nice adaptation of the movie! Really spot on. Nice big font makes it easy to read for both kiddo or parent at bed time. We did a chapter every night and it was great! The pictures are a nice touch. Colorful, bold and crisp. Easy to follow along. Much better than any of the Golden Book adaptations. Man some of those are rough. This is great! A must for any minion fan! Our daughter was obsessed with this movie over the Summer so when I saw this I had to grab it! Great to pair with a Minion tonie for bed.Great value for the price too! It is decently long with lots of pages. I have seen books with far less for far more!

this is a great movie to book adaptation. my daughters love the movies and they like the book too. the illustrations are a good addition to the story and help keep them engaged. the story is written in a way that's easy for younger readers to read. the words weren't too difficult for my daughters and they liked reading it.

This books works best for kids who have already seen the movie. A lot of the antics, especially with the minions, are difficult to visualize if you haven’t seen the movie. I read this before seeing the movie, and I had a hard time keeping track of the characters, and also a difficult time visualizing the humorous aspects of the story. It is definitely written as if someone has seen the movie, because the descriptions are not overly long or particularly clear. If kids have seen the movie and want to relive the experience, then this book works great. The writing style is not amazing, but it does the job of describing what happens in the movie.This does have some color pictures, which are moderately good quality. They are very slightly grainy pictures, but most kids won’t notice. The pictures are all in one section of the book- they are not disbursed throughout the book where the action happens. So, again, this books works best for those wishing to relive the movie, not for those who are experiencing the story for the first time.This book is paper, not cardboard, so works best for older children who know how to treat books carefully. I wouldn’t recommend it for toddlers.

This novel is perfect for my 10 year old. It is an accurate depiction of the movie. It is easy to read and follow. The full color photos are really nice. Perfect for any despicable me fan. It was easy for my son to read,and interpret.

This chapter book features a cover photo of the Despicable Me 4 movie, and it did a nice job telling that story from the movie in a novel format. Great book for tweens, who are fans of the movies!