The Word Eater by Mary Amato

If you enjoyed Babe because you love animals with special talents, because you love magical things, and because you know what it’s like to be different, then here is the book for you!

The Word Eater by Mary Amato

Year:  2000

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

ISBN:  0-439-34251-1

Plot:

Lerner Chase is in the 6^th grade and is being sucked into the drama of the MPOOEs– the snobby click that calls themselves the “Most Powerful Ones On Earth.”  She knows that if she doesn’t take them up on their dare then they will brand her a SLUG – a “Sorry Loser Under Ground.”  She wishes that she could just go back to Wisconsin and be with her best friend Marie instead of being stuck in Washington D.C. at Cleveland Park Middle School.

Things get interesting for Learner when a little worm named Fip comes into her life.  It turns out that Fip isn’t just any little worm.  Instead of eating dirt, Fip prefers to eat words.  And when he eats a word, that word and all that it represents disappear.

When Lerner figures this out she realizes that the little worm may just give her the power to solve her MPOOE problem.  But she soon finds out that with power comes great responsibility.

Review:

Learner’s sarcastic outlook summons many a chuckle through this cleverly enlightening book.  There are more storylines than just those of Lerner and Fip, as there always are in real life.  What we soon learn is that we are all connected and our actions could have far-reaching consequences that we may never even know about.

Notes:  The Book begins on October 1^st and ends on October 10^th.

Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day by Gary Paulsen

If you enjoyed Wizards of Waverly Place because you can relate to Justin’s obsessive organization, because you enjoy Alex’s go-with-the-flow attitude and sarcastic wit, because Harper has some pretty great style, and because you think Jake’s quirky, carefree approach to life is the way life should be lived, then here’s a book for you!

Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day by Gary Paulsen

Year:  2004

Publisher:  Yearling

ISBN:  0-44041482-2

Plot:

Molly McGinty is having a rough day.  She has super-organized her entire crazy life into one, tidy, masterful, 3-ring binder… and now it’s disappeared.  Molly McGinty has lost her binder and it seems to have led to what is just quite possibly the worst day ever.

On top of that, it’s Senior Citizen’s Day at Molly’s elementary school and this will be the sixth year that her crazy grandma, with all of her zest for life, will be attending the special day.  In fact, Molly’s grandma is the only senior citizen attending this year and she insists that she be considered just one of the students.

Molly endures many a mishap while her grandma and all the other kids seem to have the time of their lives.  But Molly endures… and finds that sometimes things don’t turn out the way you thought they would.

Review:

What’s so great about this book is that our protagonist just keeps truckin’ through all of the chaos that surrounds her.  Sixth grade can be eventful without being overly dramatic.  This is a book that will keep you laughing as you follow Molly through one, single, painful day when everything goes wrong.  Or does it?

Notes:  Small, humorous illustrations greet you at every chapter beginning.

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

If you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables because of Anne’s never-ending optimism despite the fact that mishaps pursued her, because you loved the quirky residents of Green Gables, and because Green Gables was located on the Canadian coast then here’s a book for you!

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

Year:  2001

Publisher:  Sunburst

ISBN:  0-374-42208-7

Plot:

Primrose Scarp is a typical eleven year-old girl who lives in the fishing town of Coal Harbour, British Columbia.  And her parents are lost at sea.  She is taken-in by her Uncle Jack after her elderly neighbor Miss Perfidy, queen of the mothballs, can no longer watch her for $3 an hour.  When the kids at school start picking on Primrose for not wearing black (the color of mourning), Primrose finds safety at The Girl on the Red Swing, Miss Bowser’s restaurant where everything, yes everything, is served on a waffle.  Meanwhile Miss Honeycut, the school counselor, is eager to get Primrose into foster care and herself into Uncle Jack’s heart.

Primrose “floats” through the days which hold for her misfortunes of the oddest sort.  She clings to her mother’s dropped note pad which contains a recipe for Carrots in Apricot Glaze and decides to begin adding more of her own – recipes that she thinks her mother will enjoy when she returns.  Primrose refuses to admit that her parents are dead – she just knows that her parents are still alive out there somewhere.

Review:

This is a story that tempers the tragedies of life with savory bits of humor.  The characters that populate the town of Coal Harbour are one-of-a-kind and create a complicated and caring world for Primrose to float through.  You’ll laugh out loud and cry a little and want to eat waffles for days.

Notes: Each chapter ends with a recipe that Primrose has added to her mother’s notepad for reasons revealed earlier in that chapter.  The difficulty of the recipes increases through the book and are a good introduction to basic cooking techniques.  Everything on a Waffle is also a Newberry Honor Book.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

If you enjoyed Agent Cody Banks because it’s fun to see a regular guy get sucked into a crazy secret life, then here’s a book for you!

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Year:  2007

Publisher:  Yearling

ISBN:  0-978-0-553-49465-5

Plot:

He wasn’t always Lawn Boy but now he doesn’t need to go by any other name.  For his 12^th birthday his grandmother gave him his grandfather’s old riding mower.  He was taking it for a spin when a neighbor offered to pay him to mow a lawn.  One lawn job turned into two and then three and then… well that’s how it all started anyway.  Then he met Arnold and Lawn Boy’s simple summer job seemed to take on a life of its own.

Review:

This book is an amusing contemplation about what might happen if everything went right with a simple summer job.  One lesson learned – there will always be problems when it comes to money, even when things are going right.

Notes:  A fun way to learn about how the more grown-up world of money works.