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Welcome back to the site that aims to please the reader in you EVERY day of the week...and EVERY season of the year....Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today's selection is a classic mashup on the Children's Fiction side of things marking the third installment in an ever growing series aimed at Middle Grade readers but suitable for those well beyond in years. The fabulousness of this one comes in the fact that it introduces young minds (and reminds those with more seasoned minds) to the classics of old in a new way, leaving room for further exploration after the read is through. Ready to meet today's featured title? Let's! Get the garlic ready for this puppet has no strings to hold him down, it's time to introduce...
The Creature from My Closet:
by
Henry Holt / Christy Ottaviano Books
9780805096897
About the book...
For Rob Burnside, things are going pretty well. His friends are behaving, school isn’t too bad, his family’s getting along, and Janae, the girl of his dreams, occasionally notices him. Yep, life’s okay—until the lying starts. Meet Pinocula, the new creature from Rob’s closet. He is a liar and a jokester and is determined to drive Rob crazy.
....something which he accomplishes time and time again but never to the extent that Rob forgets his mission, well...not completely anyway.
It's a story right from the pages of literature with a moral for today's generation...lying gets you nothing but a BIG nose and if you don't sleep in your own home sweet home, you may just turn into an inanimate block of wood! Hard lessons for anyone to learn. (hehe) Seriously though, through Robs trials and tribulation in dealing with his little brother, addressing his crush on the neighbor girl (when WILL that ever work out for the poor lad!) without his fingers crossed and fessing up to every little thing he blows out of proportion in order to impress people that don't even truly need impressing...readers are treated to a real life look at how things can snowball into the h-e-double-hockey-stick of wrongness, and still be righted in the end. That's not to say that Rob gets off scott free because really, he doesn't, plus there's the fact that we never know just what Beardy has in store for him next time the closet opens...but in the end, he'll be ready for it because he's growing up not only in age but in character. What else could we possibly want from a work of Children's Fiction when all is said and done?
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| Author Obert Skye |
In conclusion, another great installment in this growing series that will have readers of all ages clamoring to their local bookstores for another peek inside the closet. The journal like entries complete with illustrations will capture the eye of readers young and old for their whimsy but also humor...a few snaps of which I shared myself on Twitter. Could not resist! If you're looking for a fun romp through the pages of not just one book but technically THREE, this is definitely one to set your sites on...and with the length of the story, it makes a quick read so take a reading break in your day and see just what happens when you cross a creature of the night with a boy made of wood. Curious results...curious results indeed...
ARC for review received courtesy of Ksenia at MacMillian Children's Publishing Group. (THANKS!) For more information on this series as well as their full catalog, be sure to stop by their official site, like them on Facebook or follow along on Twitter. To discover more of author Obert Skye's world, check out his site, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.
Until next time...happy reading!
Put off slightly by the journal like format - not my favourite it has to be said. This otherwise sounds like a series well worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteI understand but journal in this case is more in reference to the carefree writing style and illustrations. Probably should have used another word. ^-^
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