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Wedgieman to the Rescue. by Charise Mericle Harper, illustrated by Bob Shea. February 12, 2013. Random House. 48 pages. ISBN: 9780307930729

Wedgieman to the Rescue is a level 3 easy reader from Random House’s Step into Reading series. In his second adventure, Veggieman (aka Wedgieman) comes up against Bad Dude, a villain keen on zapping the playground and forcing all the kids to work in his factory. Not only does Wedgieman come through to save the kids, but the kids give Bad Dude a toilet-themed nickname of his own.

I like Veggieman as a character, and I think the tone and illustrations of this book are spot-on for the target age group. Unfortunately, I think the assumption that kids are bad spellers, and that the only jokes they laugh at are related to underwear and poop, is a major weakness. Kids reading at this level know about the silent E at the end of certain words, and they would know better than to pronounce “dude” as “doodie.” I think the average child likes at least some vegetables, so trying to use toilet humor to make them more palatable doesn’t really work either. While Veggieman isn’t really an objectionable personality, I don’t understand why the hero of a children’s book is this man who lets kids bully him and call him names, and who seems to think so little of their intelligence. Odd choice.

Wedgieman to the Rescue might appeal to fans of the first book, but it’s not among Harper’s best. As an alternative superhero series, try Marvel’s Superhero Squad series, two titles in which I have reviewed. Wedgieman to the Rescue will be published on February 12.
 
I received a digital ARC of Wedgieman to the Rescue from Random House via Edelweiss. 

For more about this book visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Zeke Meeks Vs. the Big Blah-Rific Birthday. by D.L. Green. February 1, 2013. Picture Window Books. 128 pages. ISBN: 9781404881051

Zeke’s birthday is coming up, and he wants to have a really exciting party. The problem is, if he wants to invite lots of people, his parents say he has to have his party at home, and not at the Thrillsville amusement park. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that two other kids in Zeke’s class are having parties the same weekend. Owen, the most popular boy, is taking the entire class to Thrillsville, and evil Grace Chang’s party will have a magician, games, and lots of great food. Defeated, Zeke decides to cancel his party, only to learn later on that sometimes a simple party is a lot more fun.

I really like the way author DL Green takes on realistic childhood problems in her Zeke Meeks books. Birthday parties, for example, are such a big deal in elementary school, and the worst thing that can happen to the birthday boy is that another child’s party steals his guests away. In this book, Green taps into the anxieties kids feel about that situation and weaves a believable and satisfying story surrounding them.

Zeke’s thoughts throughout the story really sound like those of a real eight-year-old. I love his exasperation with his little sister’s favorite TV character, Princess Sing-Along, who sings about everything from personal hygiene to flatulence. I’m sure Zeke’s feelings about Princess Sing-Along mirror many brothers’ real life objections to Dora the Explorer and Disney Princesses. I also like the way Zeke interacts with Grace Chang, worrying that she will scratch him to death with her fingernails. Good and evil are so black and white for third graders, and Green takes a comic approach to characterization that really drives that idea home.

In addition to great characterization, this book also has a strong, well-charted plot. Every detail in the first half of the story comes around again to tie up the ending, That’s not to say that things are wrapped up too neatly, but that there is a reason for many of the events of the story, and a satisfying culmination of those events. The message - that simple is sometimes better - is also handed down from a child’s point of view. Parents will have no problem getting behind that message, but it’s not preachy. Zeke comes to his realization on his own, based on his own experiences, and explains his new point of view on his own terms.

This chapter book provides plenty of support for newer readers. Each supporting character has a particular trait that is mentioned each time the character appears in a new scene. This helps readers keep track of the characters and remember who is who, especially if a character is not in every chapter. There is also a great glossary at the back of the book, which in a style similar to the Aldo Zelnick series, defines unfamiliar words in kid-friendly terms. And of course, the design of the book is very visually appealing, filled with cartoonish drawings, big, bold fonts, and representations of each of the characters.

I recommend Zeke Meeks Vs. the Big Blah-Rific Birthday to third graders - both boys and girls, and both reluctant and enthusiastic readers. There are many other books about Zeke, including Zeke Meeks Vs. the Putrid Puppet Pals, which I have previously reviewed.

I received a digital ARC of Zeke Meeks Vs. the Big Blah-Rific Birthday from Capstone Young Readers via NetGalley.

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One Tough Chick. by Leslie Margolis. January 22, 2013. Bloomsbury. 176 pages. ISBN: 9781599909615

The Annabelle Unleashed series by Leslie Margolis began in 2008 with Boys are Dogs. Annabelle, a seventh grader, who has previously attended an all-girls school finds herself in a new co-ed school, surrounded by obnoxious boys. As she trains her dog, she realizes that the same behavior modification techniques also work on the boys at her school, and she uses this fact to help her and her new female friends get used to middle school. Girls Acting Catty (2009) and Everybody Bugs Out (2011) continue Annabelle’s wholesome adventures navigating the halls of her middle school. By the time One Tough Chick begins, she has established a core group of friends, acquired a new stepdad and stepbrother, and started dating a cute boy named Oliver. The plot of this fourth book continues with many of the threads established by the previous titles, but it focuses chiefly on Annabelle’s role as a judge in the talent show and the dilemmas she faces when people assume she will vote based on her relationships with the performers, rather than from an objective point of view.

What is so nice about this series is that Annabelle is a true role model. In each book, she shows girls that it is possible to make it through the various challenges of middle school without compromising on what matters to them. There is bullying and teasing in these books, but time and again, Annabelle rises above it and helps her friends to do the same It’s not that Annabelle is perfect - she has her flaws - but that she doesn’t apologize for being herself and doesn’t bury her head in the sand and avoid intimidating situations.

This particular book is not the strongest of the series, but it takes on a very important topic for girls in their early teens - first boyfriends. The story provides a very sweet and realistic road map for that first dating relationship. Both Annabelle and Oliver are shy and awkward, but also kind and respectful to each other. Girls who follow Annabelle’s example will be in good shape when they start dating! It’s also nice that girls can grow up with Annabelle, the way they do with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice or with Lauren Myracle’s Winnie. Annabelle’s stories are somewhat tamer than Naylor’s, Myracle’s, or Judy Blume’s, but because of that they are probably more likely to reflect real life for many readers of the series. Annabelle’s positive attitude and the comforting atmosphere of each book might also appeal to girls who are hooked on the American Girl books, especially the contemporary stories about the Girls of the Year.

One Tough Chick was published on January 22, 2013.

I received a digital ARC of One Tough Chick from Bloomsbury via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

I submitted this post to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. 

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Ricky Vargas: Born to Be Funny. by Alan Katz. illustrated by Stacy Curtis. February 1, 2013. Scholastic. 80 pages. ISBN: 9780545313964
Ricky Vargas is the funniest kid in the world. This book relates three episodes from his life. In “The Unfunny Day Story” Ricky must recover from a case of seriousness. In “The Talent Show Story” he learns an important lesson about saving his comedy material for the spotlight. In “The Substitute Teacher Story” he learns how to deal with a substitute teacher who never laughs, not even at the funniest kid in the world.

This early chapter book is a great stepping stone for kids who feel finished with easy readers, but aren’t quite ready for longer chapter books. There are very few words per page, so the reader isn’t intimidated by lots and lots of text, but the sentences vary in length and structure, providing a more sophisticated reading experience. Where the language in easy readers might seem stilted, this book sounds more natural, and the main character’s voice more authentic. The episodic chapters are more like short stories than pieces of a longer story, which is similar to the format of many easy readers. In that sense, Born to be Funny reminds me a lot of the Horrid Henry books.

What impressed me so much about this book is the quality of the writing. The author clearly chooses his words carefully, and the ones selected are very evocative and powerful. For example, on page 36, he describes two of the performers in the talent show. “Twins Lee and Paul Baron joined the contest, but didn’t really agree on what they would be singing.” There is a lot of information in this sentence - that the boys are twins, that they sing, and that they don’t communicate with one another about joint decisions - but it is delivered in the most economical and most interesting way. To add to the impact of this sentence, illustrator Stacy Curtis provides a drawing of the two boys with speech bubbles over their heads showing that one sings “Yesterday” while the other sings “Tomorrow.” (I laughed out loud when I saw that subtle joke, and I think parents reading this book with their kids - if not the kids themselves - will get a good chuckle out of it as well.)

Another favorite excerpt is on page 61, where Ricky reacts to the arrival of the substitute teacher, Mrs. Adams:

Ricky’s head went “Boing!”
Ricky’s heart went “Boing!”
And Ricky’s pencil box went “Boing!” - because he dropped it on the floor. There are only around a dozen unique words on this page, but again, they set a very specific scene and highlight Ricky’s shock and dismay at being without his beloved classroom teacher, Mrs. Wilder.

Ricky Vargas: Born to be Funny is a funny, boy-friendly early chapter book that favors silly situational humor over bathroom jokes. The story is heavily illustrated, and the pictures incorporate some elements of graphic novels, making it a good choice for visual learners and comics fans. Recommend Born to be Funny to readers of series like Bink & Gollie, Horrid Henry, Horrible Harry, Bad Kitty, Nate the Great, and Martin Bridge.

I received a digital ARC of Ricky Vargas: Born to be Funny from Scholastic via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

I have submitted this post to the January 2013 Carnival of Children's Literature, which will be hosted by Melissa at Imagination Soup.

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Amelia Bedelia Means Business. by Herman Parish. January 29, 2013. Greenwillow Books. 112 pages. ISBN: 9780062094988

Following the example of popular picture book and easy reader character Fancy Nancy, young Amelia Bedelia is now also the star of her own chapter book series. In the first installment of the series, Amelia Bedelia Means Business, the literal minded little girl finds herself in need of a new bike. Her parents, two very upbeat personalities who apparently don't know their kid very well, decide this will be a fun opportunity for their daughter to learn a little bit of business sense. They inform her that she can have the bike she wants when she earns half the cost. Undaunted, Amelia Bedelia heads out into her neighborhood hoping to find a job. Each time she is hired, though, she quickly loses her job because of her strange interpretations of the instructions she is given.

Up until now, I have generally held the opinion that the newer Amelia Bedelia stories, where she is a mixed-up child instead of a blundering adult, make more sense and are easier for kids to relate to. This chapter book adds a caveat to this statement; the new Amelia Bedelia should stick to the original easy reader format that made her parent series a success. What works so well in a brief story for beginning readers - plays on words and outright silliness - loses its magic in a longer deeper tale. Amelia Bedelia has always been the butt of the joke in her stories, but in a way kids really enjoy. In this book, the reader is asked to take her seriously and to believe that her parents, classmates and neighbors also take her seriously. This is too much to ask of readers who remember the original Amelia Bedelia's “date cake” from Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia and the way she “called the roll” in Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. Even kids who don't know the classic stories will pick up on a sense of flatness in this book. The schtick that defines the essence of Amelia Bedelia only works if we don't try getting inside her head. This earnest treatment of her character ruins the joke and makes the reader feel oddly guilty for laughing at a character who views the world in a different way.

I think the audience most likely to enjoy this book are girls who are new to chapter books who haven’t necessarily developed an attachment to the old school Amelia Bedelia. When girls find Amelia Bedelia Means Business shelved beside the Nancy Clancy, Rainbow Magic, and Magic Tree House series, they will be drawn to the cartoonish cover as well as the universally understood desire for a brand-new bike. Six and seven year olds who don't mind heavily suspending their disbelief will laugh when Amelia makes cringe-worthy mistake after cringe-worthy mistake. For everyone else, though, it might be a better idea to look back fondly on those early days of reading Amelia Bedelia easy readers and look for some better written and more engaging chapter books. After all, we don't have Frog and Toad or Elephant and Piggie chapter books - and I hope we never do. Some characters just don’t translate well to a longer format, and based on this book, I believe Amelia Bedelia is one of those.

I received a digital ARC of Amelia Bedelia Means Business from HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Amy and the Missing Puppy. by Callie Barkley. January 1, 2013. Little Simon. 128 pages. ISBN: 9781442457706

In this first book in the new Critter Club series, Amy is on her own for the week, while her friends spend Spring Break out of town. Luckily, Amy is an animal lover and her mom is a vet, so there’s lots for her to do to the pass the time. In fact, after just a couple of days, Amy finds herself involved in a mystery. Local billionaire Marge Sullivan has lost her dog, and Amy starts tracking the clues to find him. When her friends return home, they, too, have a hand in solving the mystery - and all the girls come together to find a way to help all the local animals who need them.

There is no doubt that this new series is directed at little girls. All the kids in the story are girls, and they’re into horses, dogs, and playing MASH (the game that determines a girl’s future husband, house, etc.). The cover shows hints of purple. The illustrations inside have a clear heart motif. The entire layout of the books is very stereotypically girls, and visually, I already know it will appeal to girls who are reading Cupcake Diaries, Rainbow Magic, and other similarly packaged chapter books.

Despite the fluffy appearance, though, this is a book with substance. Amy is a well-rounded character whose personality comes through in details like her constant blushing when she’s embarrassed, and her love for Nancy Drew mysteries. The story is realistic enough that it actually does seem believable that Amy could solve a case like this on her own, and that makes trying to solve it alongside her that much more fun. Readers will be able to put the clues together on their own - the author doesn’t play any tricks or withhold any information.

Interestingly, though this first book is a mystery subsequent titles in the series are not, so adults will want to be aware of that when presenting this book to kids. This specific book might be a great read-alike for Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew and Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super Sleuths, but the series as a whole is more like the Cupcake Diaries, Welcome to Silver Street Farm, or The Sleepover Squad.

This is a solid start to a new series sure to win over 8-year-old animal lovers everywhere. Amy and the Missing Puppy will be published on January 1, 2013, along with the second book of the series, All About Ellie. In the meantime, check out the adorable trailer below, and take a look at this graphic excerpt on Simon & Schuster’s website.



I received a digital ARC of Amy and the Missing Puppy from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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