Jenn's Bookshelves

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!

The people of El Camino Street enjoy the peace and quiet.  They don’t like kids, people with big families, or pets. They enjoy spending their time enjoying the peaceful things in life. A new family moves in, a new family with three kids and a pet fish.  Still, their peace and quiet seems to go on uninterrupted. 

Then suddenly, a giant camper pulls up in front of the new family’s home, a camper that took up half the block.  People start streaming out.  It started with three teenage cousins.  The neighbors shook their heads in astonishment and say “Too many visitors for one little house!” But family members continue to come out of the camper and each time they do, the neighbors respond with the same comment. All together, fourteen people (and a wandering stray dog!) arrive and enter the new family’s home.  The neighbors are in an uproar! They don’t appreciate all the noise that comes along with this many house guests!

But on their way to filing a complaint with the city’s complaint department, they are greeted by the Mom, holding a plate of Nanny’s apple strudel!  They are invited into the family’s home and instantly remark: “There are never too many visitors for one little house!”

My boys LOVED this book!  The illustrations, done by Veronica Walsh, were very colorful and vivid.  They enjoyed the repetitive text “There are too many people for one little house” and enjoyed repeating it each time a new group of visitors entered the house.  My four year old son, Justin, liked counting the guests as they arrived. My oldest son, John, thought Grandma, with her prune juice, and Grandpa, with his rolls of toilet paper and plunger, were downright hilarious!  So, kids of varying ages each take away something different from this hilarious tale!

About the Author:  Susan Chodakiewitz is a writer, composer and producer. She is the founder of Booksicals Children’s Books- Encouraging the love of reading through the arts. Through her company Booksicals she has created the Booksicals on Stage literacy program which is currently presenting musical performances of the picture book Too Many Visitors for One Little House at schools, libraries, and special events.

Susan lives in Los Angeles in a lively household filled with music, three sons, a husband, a Dalmatian and lots of visitors. Susan loves picture books and when she wrote a musical based on one of her favorites, she realized it was time to start writing her own picture books. Too Many Visitors for One Little House is Susan’s debut book. You can visit her website at www.booksicals.com.

As with the other Horrid Henry books, Horrid Henry and the Mummy’s Curse is made up of four hilarious stories about Horrid Henry’s antics.

My ten-year old, John, and I decided to do a joint review of the title story The Mummy’s Curse.

In Horrid Henry and the Mummy’s Curse, Henry is doing what he does best-being horrid and getting into trouble.  Since he is unable to share his toys with his younger brother, Perfect Peter, Henry has been banned from playing with Peter’s toys. Typically, that’s not a problem for Henry.  Who wants to play with Peter’s childish, baby toys?  Well, that changed when Peter won a “Curse of the Mummy” kit from the museum.  It came with a plastic body to mummify, mummy wrapping gauze,  a curse book, amulets, and removable mummy organs!  What little boy wouldn’t love this !?

Perfect Peter soon finds Horrid Henry in his room and threatens to tell on him. But Henry convinces Peter that he’s not stealing his toy, but trying to protect him from the Mummy’s Curse, the curse that turns people into a mummy.  At first Peter doesn’t believe Henry, but he is convinced after a hilarious exchange with his Mom:

“Mom, ” said Peter, “Henry says you are a mummy.”

Mom looked puzzled.  “Of course I’m a mummy,” she said.

“What?” said Peter

“I’m your mummy,” said Mom,  with a smile.

Peter too a step back.

“I don’t want you to be a mummy,” said Peter

“But I am one,” said Mom.  “Now come and give me a hug.”

“No!” said Peter

“Let me wrap my arms around you,” said Mom

Peter is certain his Mom has been mummified. He asks Henry to help him remove the curse.  Henry insists they must wrap Fluffy, the cat, in the sacred bandages (toilet paper) so he can be a messanger between this world and the next.   Peter, too, must be wrapped and remain silent for thirty minutes. Henry begins chanting the “sacred spell”

“By the powers of Horus, Morus, Borus and Stegosaurus!”

But before the spell can be completed, Henry is discovered by his Mummy, I mean, Mom.  He is grounded from the TV for a month, but since Peter no longer wanted anything to do with his mummy kit, Peter had free reign!

My Review:

Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series, does another outstanding job with this one! Each of the four stories are long enough to tell a good story, but short enough to keep the attention of my two boys.  They love to hear about what sort of trouble is getting into next.  My oldest, John, is still convinced he’s Perfect Peter and his younger brother, Justin, is Horrid Henry.  Justin doesn’t seem to mind!

As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Horrid Henry books are perfect for any child, boy or girl, in the 7-10 age range. But they are particularly great for reluctant readers. The stories and characters engage them and the text isn’t challenging.

So, like in the past, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this, or any of the Horrid Henry series!

John’s Review:

I think Henry is a little crazy for telling Peter that their Mom was a Mummy!  He acts like Justin (John’s younger brother), telling you things that are not true.   Horrid Henry was so good at convincing Peter that he was telling the truth. When his Mom said that she was a mummy, she really meant a “Mommy” so that was a little confusing.  Henry was so rude to wrap up Peter and Fluffy!

I liked this story because I think mummies are interesting.  But I don’t think Henry’s punishment was good. It was a good punishment for Henry to lose his TV privileges, but it wasn’t fair that he still got to play with the mummy kit!  If I had done something like this to Justin (I wouldn’t Mom, I promise) I would definitely get in a lot more trouble! I’d like lose my privileges for a MONTH!

Stay tuned for more reviews from John!  He’s starting to receive his own review requests, so he’s pretty excited!