In my April 24 post about David Lee Stone's Ratastrophe Catastrophe (Book 1 of The Illmoor Chronicles ), I said I did not care for it because it was just not my kind of humor and the characters were not well-developed. Well, my husband read the book and loved it! His comment was that Stone seems "like Terry Pratchett's son," (i.e., not quite as good as Pratchett but with a promising future as a Pratchett-styled satirist). My husband is now reading the sequel, The Yowler Foul-UP, and he says he's sure our boys will love these books. Since my library does not have Book 1, I will recommend it to the children's librarians.
Since so many kids have been asking at the library for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I decided to buy a copy for myself and find out why it's so popular. Then, before I had a chance to read it, one of my sons picked up the book and read the whole thing in one sitting. As soon as he finished, he read the sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules -- all this in one afternoon, without stopping. Keep in mind that my son rarely reads anything but video game guides and Garfield comic books unless he has to, so I decided to move this one up on the "to read" list.
I was glad I did. This book is a true gem -- very funny and easy to read, with plenty of comic book style illustrations to add to the humor. I really enjoyed it and I think this series is going to have wide appeal -- for reluctant and avid readers alike. George and Harold (the stars of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books) and Greg Heffley, the journal writer of the Wimpy Kid books, have a lot in common, so if you're a Captain Underpants fan, you're going to love the Wimpy Kid books.
The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, was just terrific! The main characters are four children who, for one reason or another, find themselves alone in the world and are recruited by Mr. Benedict to go on a dangerous mission to save the world. Before they are chosen for the assignment, though, they are put through a series of tests, which the reader can kind of take along with them, trying to figure out riddles and come up with solutions to difficult problems. I especially liked the question about chess!
The kids eventually are enrolled in L.I.V.E. (Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened) in order to try to figure out what exactly the Institute's founder is up to with his "Whisperer" machine. The plot is exciting, the characters memorable and well-developed, and the ending satisfying. I am now reading the sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. If you liked Lemony Snicket's books, you will probably like these as well.
