Tales of a (Formerly) Reluctant Reader: Episode One
Today I would like to tell you about the Black Lagoon Adventures #11: The Snow Day from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler. I picked this book because we had a blizzard right before Christmas, school was canceled, and winter break started early!
Hubie hates snow. He hates winter. He only wants it to snow once, right around Christmas. He hates it because it’s so cold, and because of all the clothes you have to wear to go out in it. By the time you are all bundled up, you have to go to the bathroom!When Hubie sees on the news that they are getting a horrible snow storm, he starts to freak out!
When he wakes up, the entire town is covered in snow. His mom makes him get all bundled up to go out and play in the snow. His friend Eric comes over and they go sledding and have a snowball fight. Hubie begins to see that snow isn’t as bad as he thought. Once the snowball fight is over, Hubie and his friends go inside his house. It begins to snow again so they have to stay inside. They play board games and roast marshmallows in the fireplace. They tell spooky ghost stories to one another, including the tale of Sammy the Ghost who couldn’t scare anyone.
The next morning, the snow has been cleared and school is open again. Hubie’s teacher, Mrs. Green, asks the kids to write about what they did on their snow day. This book is Hubie’s report.
What I liked about this book:
There are a LOT of illustrations in this book. This really breaks up the book and almost seems like you are reading a comic book instead of a chapter book. Here are a few of them:
Second, the book is made up of more than just a story! It has funny knock-knock jokes and drawing. Here’s an example:
Finally, the words are large and easy to read. This helps out a lot when I’m reading in bed at night! And I liked that I didn’t need to use a dictionary or ask my mom to help out with some of the words. They were perfect for a kid my age.
The only problem is that most of these Black Lagoon Adventures books are hard to find in bookstores, which is sad because I really love them! My mom says they are out of print. She was able to find a few of them in the local bookstore but had to place a special order for the rest.
*Edit: After a little of research, I found a site where you can purchase The Black Lagoon Adventures books. Some of the series can also be purchased directly from Scholastic.
I hope you have enjoyed the first review in my new feature! Check back in a few weeks for another episode of TALES OF A (FORMERLY) RELUCTANT READER!!!
All Tales of A (Formerly) Reluctant Reader episodes are written by my ten-year old son, John. FTC: These books were all purchased out of my son’s allowance!
Tags: 4-8 years of age, 7-10 years of age, Kid-Lit/Middle Grade, Tales of A (Formerly) Reluctant Reader
Thank you for this GREAT review! I had never heard of these books before but will now be looking for them to give to my grandsons.
I REALLY like the pictures you included. They gave me a good idea about how the book was laid out…I really like the fact that there are lots of illustrations…and also some cool jokes!
An excellent review, John-John…am looking forward to your next one!
LOL at “Winter Survival Tips” Will be sure not to lick any lamposts on my way to the office today.
It is too bad that these are out of print, because they look great! Between your review, John, and the cover and illustrations I’m really interested in them. I hope someone decides to republish them so they are around when my son is your age!
I’m so glad that he read AND enjoyed this one! Kiddo just yesterday asked me to find him The Gym Teacher and the Black Lagoon b/c he saw it in the school library and someone else had it checked out.
I’m looking forward to more of these posts.
This is a great new feature and you did a fantastic job, John! Keep up the good work!
Great review John! I have never read these books, but they look really fun! Can’t wait to keep up with your reading!
Twitter: novelwhore
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I really agree with Hubie about only wanting it to snow once right before Christmas! Thanks for an excellent review, John, I hope you find many more books you enjoy (along with more snow days to give you extra time to read!).
John,
Your review was wonderful. My nephew is a little younger than you are, so I’ll be reading your reviews to get good ideas for books for him. He would definitely like the illustrations and jokes, too.
Keep up the good work!
Great review John! I can certainly identify with Hubie because I also hate snow and winter in general ans wish it could only snow once right around Christmas.
I’ll have to check the site out and the books because they might be something my daughter would like (she loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this one with the cartoons, drawings and a slightly different format might be similar).
Way to go John!
I love this review and your tales of a (formerly) reluctant reader series. It is quite frustrating when you’re all bundled up and ready to leave the house, then realize you have to go to the bathroom. Argh.
This is absolutely terrific! I am so proud of him! It goes to prove that you just have to find something they like!
Twitter: skrishna
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This is a great review! I’ll recommend this one for my cousin-in-law who is also a reluctant reader! Isn’t it sad when books you like go out of print?
John-John, this was a wonderful review! My kids would love to read these books, thank you so much for writing about them. I’m going to get my hands on some. I looooove your new feature; keep up the good work!
Twitter: BethFishReads
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Great review. I love that you told me other things about the book — like that you didn’t need a dictionary and you showed some of the pictures. One of my nephews is 10 years old. I bet he’d love this. Thanks.
Nice review, John. I like the illustrations and I think my niece would like this book!
This is a great review! I’m so glad John is doing this, and I can’t wait to direct my nephew (who is still a reluctant reader) to these reviews so he can find great books to read.
From my bookselling days: Many of the individual Black Lagoon titles are out of print, but there’s a bound compilation with several books combined into one that should be available at most big bookstores.
John, what a great review! Very clear and well written, I was very impressed. I’ll also be looking for the Black Lagoon books for my nephew, so thank you Jenn for the info on where to get them!
John John, you have completed another excellent review. I love you because you are my grandson and I love your point of view. Many grownups could learn much from what you are saying so that books such as this will not be so hard to find for those who would really enjoy them. Enjoy the many comments! I am proud of you!
John – are you sure you’re only 10 years old? You sound like a professional book blogger/reviewer. Must be because of all that great reading that you do. The more you read the better a writer you become. Its true!
I am exactly like Hubie. I hate winter – except for Christmas snow. But if I have something fun to do, like ice skating on our neighbor’s backyard ice rink that we helped to build, then I forget how cold I was and before I know it I’m looking forward to going outside in the winter again! Sure wish I’d had this book around when I was little – might not have taken me so long to figure it out ;0)
Great review John. I may suggest this book to some of my students. I look forward to your next review.
Thanks for the great review John! My son will be getting into some “older” books soon enough and it will be nice to have another “guys” point of view. Great review!
Aw! I didn’t know these were out of print. I just rebought the regular Black Lagoon books for my school library. We were missing most of the series!
I love this feature!
Great review. What a cute book! John you did a great job. I love this new feature!
Love the review John, you write them very well, maybe better than me! I hate when a book I want isn’t available at any bookstore including amazon.com Why have a book if no one can read it?
Keep up the good work.