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The Quikpick Adventure Society
By Sam Riddleburger
Dial, 2007

This book is about poop. Well, actually about kids who go to see a poop fountain, but still, if you tell any boy that it’s a book about poop, he’ll read it.

Lyle, Marilla, and Dave are friends and they hang out together, usually at the Quikpick. The Quikpick is a local gas station-slash-convenience store where Lyle’s parents both work. They get tired of just hanging out in the break room at the Quikpick, so they really want to find something interesting to do. Lyle’s parents have to work all day Christmas Day, so they plan to do this really-interesting-adventure on Christmas Day.

They read in the paper that the local wasterwater treatment plant is getting ready to get a new upgrade. They will be closing down their “sludge fountain” and opening new equipment. The timeline for this upgrade? Jan. 2. So they have time for their Christmas Day adventure.

They venture out on Christmas Day to the fountain of poop, as they call it. Yes, there are poop-related disasters. There is messiness. There are several “ooh, gross” moments. I’m telling you…give this to a boy you know!!!

Lyle is the narrator and he types his account of their adventure on his used typewriter his parents bought him for Christmas, but there are handwritten parts to the story too, and Lyle adds handwritten notes to his typed pages. It gives the story such a realistic journal feel.


Why do I love this book?
1) Most kids go on mini-adventures with small groups of friends. At least I did. Even if we never wandered far from home, we were able to create drama out of a mundane event. I even dated a guy once in college who showed me home movies of “adventures” he and his buddies had going from home to the local “Orange Market” (Quikpick-ish).
2) Most kids love to get grossed-out with bathroom humor. This book is not raunchy. The whole thing is not poop jokes. It’s poop--well done. (BTW, I can’t believe I just wrote that).
3) It’s set in Crickenburg, a fictional town based on a real place—Christiansburg, VA. I live only 20 minutes from there, so this book is close to home. And it’s written by a local author (and blogger) Sam Riddleburger (who is married to another local author, Sock Monkey writer and illustrator, Cece Bell). In fact, I got this book at a local Barnes and Noble event with Sam and Cece.
4) The kids write poetry—they even write haiku about their poop experience! Awesome!

Do you know a reluctant boy reader? Then go, buy this book!

I went to Barnes and Noble today because they were doing teacher educator day and they were offering books for 25% off. And I knew that some local authors would be signing books, so I headed over with my three year old daughter in tow. She bypassed all the teacher "freebies" and headed straight for the "kids' section" as she calls it. That might really impress you, but she wasn't headed back to look at books, but rather to play with Thomas the "lead-infected" Train. She didn't even give me time to gather a few books to read while she played, so I limited her time. I did the count down--3 more minutes, 2 more minutes, 1 more minute, okay, say goodbye to Thomas.

We finally got to pick out a few books, and talk to the authors. Cece Bell was there with her Sock Monkey books. We just purchased her latest, Sock Monkey Rides Again, at the local art show. I also highly recommend her new board book, Food Friends. It's very simple, but it pairs common foods together (i.e. mashed potatoes and gravy, bacon and eggs). My three year old was "reading" it to herself after I read it to her once.

Cece was there with her husband, Tom Angleburger (aka Sam Riddleburger) of blogging and QuikPik fame. I got to meet the fellow blogger and get him to sign a copy of The Quikpick Adventure Society for me. I can't wait to read it.

But my daughter of course, wanted to find her own books. We already have all of Cece's books (which are age appropriate for her), so she found the things that were her height--Disney princess books. I know it serves me right for going to a big chain bookstore with their paid advertisement books facing out. So she picks up this princess book and INSISTS that we get it. Yuck! I say. Let's get something better--how about an Ed Emberley drawing book? How about How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? How about...

That stupid princess book made it's way to the cash register. Thank goodness it was cheap, but I still hate it. And you might think, so why didn't you just tell your kid NO! Well, I guess I'm also from the school that at least she loves books. As a teacher, parents complain to me all of the time that their kids aren't reading what they'd like to see them read. My response is always, "It's wonderful that they are READING. At least they don't refuse to read at all." I must take my own advice. We have hundreds of high-quality books in our home library. My daughter will still be exposed to the good stuff. I don't want to squelch her personal choice too much. I just need to have an arsenal of decent princess books that don't make me want to hurl. I love The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch and Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle. Help! I need some more STRONG girl titles for little three year olds who think they are princesses. I can't bear another Disney book!!!!