How to use this Page

WARNING: Review may be biased.

(But I don't think it is. Still, I thought I'd be upfront about my biases in the following paragraph.)

It's no secret that I admire Gail Gauthier. I've been reading her blog for years and her dry sense of humor never fails to make me laugh. I greatly enjoyed her Young Adult novel, Happy Kid!, and now she's written a novel for the younger set as well. And, really, don't they need a good laugh as much as any reader?

A Girl, a Boy, and a Monster Cat was released this summer and is perfect for the 5-9 year-old reader (or listener, as the case may be). I read it aloud to a six-year-old boy who found it both hilarious and, as the younger brother to a bossy older sister, painfully true to his own life.

Here's the premise: Brandon's mother finds a childcare arrangement perfect for her own schedule, but not ideal as far as Brandon is concerned. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school, Brandon goes home with Hannah--a girl from his class. While Brandon would prefer watching TV or playing sports after school, Hannah is a girl who likes to make up complicated games based on the premise of a recently devoured book. Hannah controls her games with the will of a dictator--and Brandon never gets the good parts.

As a former Hannah myself, this scenario is all too familiar to me. (Sorry, Kara!) And, Gauthier uses it to riotous effect. Hannah's cat, like Brandon, frequently is an unwitting actor in her games. When Brandon narrates, "We were spying on a cat. He was creeping toward the stand where Hannah's mom keeps all her fanciest plants. You couldn't miss him. He was on the floor right in front of us. Spying on him was an easy job," you understand his pain. Yet, Hannah remains likeable with her endless imagination and exuberant spirit. Because of its appeal to both girl and boy readers, A Girl, a Boy, and a Monster Cat is perfectly suited for a class read-aloud in the first through third grades. Enjoy!
====================
In other reviews:

I enjoyed Mini Grey's Ginger Bear and the review is up at Book Buds.

Rebecca Young reviews grammar books for the youngsters for the Tacoma News Tribune. (Link via The Cincinnati Post.)

I am a day late on this one but what a fantastic idea Emily at whimsy had.

In honor of Tell an Author You Care Day, Book Moot bows to:

Rockstar Rick Riordan -- He really is a rock star. Young men, who I worried would NEVER read for pleasure, have discovered what it is all about thanks to him. Reading the first chapter of The Lightning Thief has also provided me with some of my most meaningful and happy experiences as a librarian.

I also have to thank Gail Gauthier for Happy Kid and the most hilarious reading-aloud my daughter has ever entertained me with while I was driving a car. Also her heroine, Thérèse, from The Hero of Ticonderoga is a character I would like to hug.

Jack Gantos will always have my heart for getting this family through a very emotional time. I wish he still wrote an update to his website. Even once a year, he always made me laugh.

Jennifer Holm and Matt Holm are so gracious to kidlitosperians and have created the most imaginative young mouse in the world. I may have mentioned that I named my IPod, Babymouse?

Audrey Couloumbis has completely won me over with her books about two sisters on the run in the wild west. I find myself asking friends and relations and strangers in dentist office waiting rooms, have you read The Misadventures of Maude March yet?

Thank you, all!

How many children's book writers out there regularly review the work of their fellows? I can think of one off the top of my head. One singularly honest author who isn't afraid to say if she dislikes something by her fellows in the profession. You would think that there might be more. You would be mistaken. And why? Well as one Ms. Lionel Shriver points out, honesty pays a price. All the more reason why we should treasure it, I think.

Via Bookninja.