Category: Series - READING STYLE GUIDE

Sip Slowly

12/16/2019

Straw by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ill by Scott Magoon

Not everything’s a race. Some things are meant to be savored.

First there was a Spoon, then Chopsticks, and now Straw joins the trio of picture books featuring eating implements. Amy Krause Rosenthal’s fertile imagination gives Straw a distinctive personality and character trait. That’s right. Straw is his name so a capital letter is in order.
Here’s the thing: Straw has a compulsion to be first. He measures his consumption in relationship to the nearby straws, constantly comparing himself to others. With help from friends, he learns to slow down and savor the moment.
The text is chock full is delightful word play. "I think what you're feeling is called awe, Straw." Gentle message. Charming characters. It's better than a thick milkshake with whipped cream and cherry on top.

Scott Magoon's illustrations capture the anxiety of wanting to be first. He injects whimsy into the narrative, giving the straws expressive faces and body posture. Who knew a paper drinking straw could be so dramatic?

Straw’s tubular shape is highlighted with imaginative page design and orientation, inviting readers to turn the book and look at things in a new way,

There are not-so-subtle homages to the author scattered throughout. A mug of AKR root beer, a glass of lemonade with a cheery sunshine logo, even her signature yellow umbrella makes an appearance.

Making Things

Amy Krouse Rosenthal liked to make things: books, films, salads, something out of nothing, and wishes. This list is paraphrased from the foundation website.

In this spirit of making, I tried making things with drinking straws. Armed with a handful of plastic straws and my trusty glue gun, I got to work. Here are the results: A cardboard box maze, ready for a marble race. Mini rockets that launch with a puff of air. A tiny easel that holds a name card. Try having a marble maze relay or a rocket launch competition. Finish with a milkshake. Sip slowly.

Eat Up

Sample these Amy Krouse Rosenthal picture books.

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: January 4, 2020 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion ISBN: 978-1484749555

Double Trouble

11/21/2019

The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer

"You two are not simply two boys," countered Sister Jeronima. ""You are two Fowl boys. There is a big difference."

It began in 2001. Eoin Colfer published a story about a twelve-year-old boy named Artemus Fowl, the world's greatest criminal mastermind.

Time has passed and in the intervening years Fowl has fathered fraternal twins Myles and Beckett. In many respects it is difficult to believe that the eleven-year-old boys are siblings. Myles is the epitome of an intellectual detail-oriented techno-geek. Beckett seems wildly random, bouncing around, delighting in life. He is also a trans-species polyglot, communicating with animals and fairies.

Despite or perhaps because of their differences, the brothers share an undying loyalty and affection for one another. They have learned to do more than tolerate the other's idiosyncrasies. They depend on one another to compliment the missing elements in their individual personalities.

"I used to do what you're doing, he said. "Live in the past. But now I know the past is past. When your plan failed, that was then. This is now, and we need a new plan. Say goodbye to old-failure Myles, and hello to new-plan Myles." Beckett

There's so much going on here:
Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, The Duke of Scilly, criminal mastermind extraordinaire will stop at nothing to obtain venom from a miniature-sized troll. The venom promises eternal life. He enlists the aid of a nun, Sister Jeronima Gonzalez-Ramos de Zárate of Bilbao who speaks English with a heavy dose of Spanish. and the Myishi Corporation to help him obtain the troll and gain everlasting life.
Unfortunately for him, Beckett happened upon the troll first, promptly naming him Whistle Blower.

In addition to The Fowl Twins and the tiny troll, ELF (Excellent Leprechaun Force) Specialist Lazuli Henitz, a pixie-elf hybrid or pixel (Myles mistakenly describes Lazuli as semiprecious) joins this team. They call themselves the Regrettables. Their mission is to thwart the Duke's nefarious schemes.

It's clear that this is just the beginning. There will be further exploits for the Brothers Fowl.

Colfer is at the top of his game. Wordplay is omnipresent, punctuated with razor-sharp repartee. There's Beckett's famous cluster punch and Myles' expertise with anarchitecture, the architecture of anarchy. There are quotes from Kipling, Nietzsche, and Shakespeare. Albeit the words may be slightly inverted, resulting an entirely different meaning.

Colfer intensifies the story's frantic pace, adding one cliff-hanger on top of another. Presumed deaths, Bathtubs filled with electric eels. Gysers spouting bodies into the air. Individuals pushed off cliffs. It's campy, over-the-top non-stop action and adventure. Take your vitamins, sharpen your wits, and get ready for one wild read.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: November 5, 2019 Publisher ISBN: Disney-Hyperion 978-1368043755

Friendship & Other Discoveries

10/9/2019

Nina Soni, Former Best Friend
by Kashmira Sheth ill by Jenn Kocsmiersky

Nina Soni’s life just got more complicated. She accidentally destroys her best friend's art project. Nina fears that Jay will no longer be her friend. She is stymied when her teacher assigns a Personal Narrative Project. She has nothing to write. Her life is as boring as plain rice.
Then she discovers an interesting phenomenon that will be the basis for her person narrative. To her dismay, she learns that her idea is the same experiment used by Jay at last year's science fair. She is discouraged.

When her sister's birthday party plans fall through, Jay and Nina come together and develop a clever solution to the birthday dilemma. Upon reflection, Nina realizes that retelling events of the past twenty-four hours will make an interesting writing project.

Crisis averted. Friendship restored. Assignment completed. Things are working out!

Nina has a way with words. She images that one day she will make a brilliant scientific discovery. She will name it Ninacillian, similar to Alexander Fleming's penicillin.
The narrative is liberally sprinkled with her unique definitions. Some are spot on. All feature her quirky perspective.

For=get-ful-ness means your mind becomes so full of new thoughts and ideas that it pushes out the old ones.

Former means once-upon-a-time.

Sheth includes numerous references to Nina’s Indian-American heritage, including traditional foods such as roti and kachumber. Her notebook Sakhi means friend in Hindi. The family watches Mahabharat, a long-running series based on the Hindu ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharat.

Nina Soni, Former Best Friend is the first title in this series for young readers. Easy-to-read font, lots of lists, and handy trim size make this a good choice for early chapter book readers. Kocsmiersky’s black and white line drawings capture nine-year-old Nina's irrepressible nature.

Scientific Discoveries

If Nina can try this experiment, so can young readers. Caution: It takes a very large and extra-sharp knife as well as some muscle power to bisect and chop a dense head of cabbage. That part of the experiment is best left to an adult.

Cut a cabbage in half and chop into thin shreds.
Place the cabbage in a large glass or other stain-resistant bowl.
Submerge the cabbage in warm water. Let it rest for about 24 hours until the cabbage water is pink
Strain the liquid and discard the cabbage shreds.
Pour a small amount into individual containers.
Add one additional liquid to each container of cabbage juice. Label the contents of each container.
Record your observations.

Below are the results of my pH experiment.

Dish soap

Lemon juice

Baking soda

Vinegar

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 1, 2019 Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company ISBN: 978-1682630570

Stormy Weather

9/3/2019

The Jumbie God’s Revenge by Tracey Baptiste

Every lightning strike hit the mountain now, shaking loose larger and larger rocks...Larger ones left bruises...Sharper ones left scratches that burned in the rain. But Huracan wouldn’t stop, so neither would she.

It is interesting to view the cover art for the three books in Tracey Baptiste's Jumbies series. The Jumbies, features a frightened young Corinne moving cautiously through a dark wood, ominous-looking eyes following her. Rise of the Jumbies depicts Corrine submersed in water, body entangled in the coiling tail of Mama D’Leau.

The Jumbie God's Revenge features Corrine facing the sky, defiant and strong. She is determined and is not going to back down. One of my favorite things about this series Is the development of Corrine. Baptiste notes in her afterward that she planned on stopping with book two. I'm so glad that she didn't. Corrine comes into her own after battling forces on land, sea, and the heavens.

On with the story...

The island looked as if a giant hand had picked it up, shaken it, and put it back down again. Everything was out of place.

Corinne’s island is experiencing a rare occurrence: torrential rains accompanied by vicious lightning strikes. This is not normal. Corrine suspects that jumbies are the cause of this destruction. She learns to her surprise that this is not the work of Mama D’Leau.

Huracan, a Mayan mythological entity, is the force behind the devastating storms. This god of lightning, wind, storm, and fire is out for revenge and is intent on destroying all of the island’s inhabitants.

It is up to one girl to save everyone on the island.
She must negotiate mountain rockslides, avoid underwater volcanoes, and face a killer whale. She resolves to free Mama D’Leau who is trapped underwater. She must find her aunt Severine and return her to the island. Several of these tasks require Corinne to take mermaid form. In the process, she risks losing her memory and even her life in order to save her family and friends.

The conflict which begins on land, intensifies in the water, and eventually moves to Huracan’s home in the skies. Corinne defeats this deity in a dramatic scene that will keep readers rapidly turning pages.

She was relentless, And she had talked back, Never had anyone shouted him down.

Interspersed with Corrine’s battle against Huracan are accounts of her island friends who traverse a dangerous mountain path, searching for family and safety. There is a fascinating mermaid/jumbie subplot. Narrative is rich with island culture and dialect. Baptiste weaves it all together in the series' gripping conclusion. The Jumbie God’s Revenge is a harrowing, heart-warming tale of tremendous courage and love.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 3, 2019 Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers ISBN: 978-1616208912

Beautiful Alert!

3/22/2019

The Becket List by Adele Griffin ill LeUyen Pham

"Country life sure is quiet," I say "Not with you in it," murmurs Caroline.

Meet the irrepressible Becket. When her veterinarian parents decide to leave the city and relocate in the country, Rebecca is ready to go. She wants to take on a new country persona, requesting to be called Becket and creating a list of all the new experiences she plans to have on the farm. Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Older sister Caroline is devastated, as she must leave friends. Twin brother Nicolas finds that his perceived ailments are even worse. Then there's Mr. Fancypants, the pug that has always been a member of the family but has slowed down and isn't much fun anymore.

Living with her family on grandmother's Blackberry Farm, isn't quite what Becket envisioned. Collecting eggs can be painful when Laying Godiva, Gran's prize New Hampshire Red hen, defends her eggs by viciously pecking Becket. There is a lemonade stand fiasco, when Becket discovers the importance of sweeteners. Summer day camp is not the friend-fest she thought it would be. And sometimes helping the launch of a camper’s miniature boat is not helpful.

This camp has been a bran muffin amount of fun, not a banana split with three cherries and sprinkles amount of fun.

Becket dreams of owning a different dog, whom she decides will be named Noble. She hopes for either a Labrador or German shepherd that will perform tricks, play catch, and run with her through the countryside. Instead, she finds herself pampering Mr. Fancypants, coating his heart pills in peanut butter and carrying him up and down the stairs.

Throughout the summer her list of good things about country life goes through multiple revisions. Some unexpected items Becket adds to her list include driving a tractor and catching a runaway llama.

Becket receives her share of both real and figurative lemons. Her attempts to "make lemonade" out of difficult situations don’t always pan out. But the girl who prefers grooming the old mule and donkey to shopping, who makes mistakes and then tries to make amends, and who constantly discovers the wonder of life with her Beautiful Alerts is the kind of friend I want. Thanks Adele Griffin and LeUyen Pham for this little charmer. More stories from Blackberry Farm please.

Outside, the big old moon is glowing yellow over the fields.
”Beautiful Alert,” I whisper.

Have You Met These Girls?

If you enjoyed The Becket List, here are four girls who know their own minds and aren't afraid to speak up and take action. These cover images let you know that these girls mean business. Terrific series for young readers.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: April 2, 2019 Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers ISBN: 978-1616207908

Adventure Awaits

3/19/2019

Explorer Academy: The Falcon's Feather by Trudi Trueit

The impossible missions are the only ones that succeed.
Jacques Cousteau

National Geographic takes on a new publishing venture with Explorer Academy, a fiction series combining action-adventure with science, technology and world exploration. Twelve-year-old Cruz Coronado is a member of Explorer Academy, an international team of young people training to become the world's future scientists.

The Falcon’s Feather, second in the seven-book series, finds Cruz aboard the academy's flagship and headed to northern aquatic seas. He will be trained to swim in frigid waters and pilot a deep-sea exploratory vessel.

The ship is equipped with fascinating technological gadgets: a helmet with an embedded computerized translator which allows the wearer to communicate with marine animals, clothing with bio-luminescent properties and the ability to change appearance to blend with surroundings, a drone that appears as a tiny insect but can transmit messages.

Cruz faces grave personal danger. His cabin is ransacked the first day on board. He becomes wary. Whom can he trust? Twice during the voyage someone attempts to kill him. His computerized underwater helmet is sabotaged. Later, a deliberately set explosion traps Cruz and three of his companions in an ice cave.

They killed your mother. They will not hesitate to kill you, too.

Nebula Pharmaceuticals is behind these attacks. Cruz’s mother, a former Nebula employee, developed a serum which could regenerate human cells. Nebula ordered her to destroy her discovery and its formula. Prior to her death in a mysterious lab fire, she recorded a message to Cruz on her digital holo-video journal and engraved the serum's formula onto a black marble stone. She then split the stone into eight fragments and deposited them around the world. Her son has her journal which contains clues to the location of the coded marble fragments.

Trueit has created stories with action, intrigue, and suspense galore. At one point in my reading I replied to a request from an individual near me, saying “I can’t come right now. Cruz is trapped underwater and can’t breathe.”

Those who love scientific and geographical trivia will be fascinated with all the factoids scattered throughout the narrative. Interesting The Falcon's Feather bits include Norse mythology, whale rescue, receding glaciers, and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. All volumes are chock-full of fascinating futuristic tech gadgets. There is a Jules Verne quality to the series, envisioning scientific achievements that may become a future reality.

Discover the world and examine the possibilities of science and technology with these pulse-racing high-octane escapades. Young readers will anxiously await the next volume. Fortunately, National Geographic plans to release a new title every six months.

Extra. Extra.

National Geographic has created a wealth of extras to enhance the series.The treasure trove of online resources includes codes and ciphers to solve, profiles of scientists working on cutting edge advances. There’s an animation video of C.A.V.E. (Computer Animated Virtual Experience), a slide show of "Weird But True" facts, and personality quiz to determine what type of scientist you are.

The Truth Behind

Meet the real National Geographic Explorers who helped inspire the science in the book series. Watch them in action and find out how they’re changing the world through science and adventure in “Explorer Academy: The Truth Behind.”

Watch Zoltan trap a rattlesnake, extract some blood, and then set the venomous reptile free.

Head into caves and view what might be considered the emojis of ancient civilizations.

Williams dives into frigid arctic waters to find clues to climate change.

These tiny flying drones inspired by insects have tremendous spy potential.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: March 19, 2019 Publisher: Under the Stars ISBN: 978-1426333040

River Crossing

1/14/2019

Under Water by J. L. Powers

"The eye crosses the river."
If I wanted it, I would make it happen, no matter how hard or seemingly impossible.

After the death of her beloved grandmother, seventeen-year-old Khosi and her nine-year-old sister Zi must face the world alone. Her aunt, accusing Khosi of witchcraft, has stripped the girls’ family home of its contents. They have only mattresses, a cracked plastic chair, and an ancient T.V.

Working as a sangoma, a traditional Zulu healer, Khosi abandons her studies in order to support herself and her sister. This should have been her last year of school prior to university. She wanted to study nursing, practicing modern medicine along with traditional healing.

Circumstances impel her to break the two promises she made to her grandmother: that she would complete her schooling and that she would not get seriously involved with her longtime boyfriend, Little Man.

Tensions rise when her boyfriend becomes enmeshed in the local tsotsi's (gangster) taxi war and the body of a murdered Somali shop owner is left on her property. Destitute, pregnant with Little Man's child, her home destroyed by fire, Khosi knows that she must take her sister and flee.

One of the fascinating aspects of this novel is Khosi's intimate and ongoing relationship with amadlozi (ancestors). They remain near, influence her decisions, and are essential to her work as a sangoma. They come and go. Sometimes they are close, advising her. At other times they are silent, leaving Khosi to puzzle things out.

"What do you suppose Gogo is doing right now on the other side?" Zi asks.
I shake my head. I don't have to suppose. I already know. "She and the other amadlozi are sitting around gossiping about the funeral," I say. "Gogo is laughing about how many people came for a free meal, people who never visited when she was alive."
Zi shakes her head. "That isn't funny,"
...
"The things that matter to us when we are alive are not so important when we are dead," I say. "Gogo is glad they had a good meal. And she's touched by how many of them brought money to give to us."

Like her plan to blend traditional healing with modern medicine, Khosi's belief system is an intricate mix of Zulu worship and Christianity. A goat is sacrificed for her deceased grandmother's cleansing ritual. A Catholic priest speaks at the funeral. She uses a cell phone and watches T.V. but cooks on a wood-burning stove.

The world of the Zulu may be unfamiliar, but the heart of the story is universal. Khosi’s constant struggle with what she wants versus the reality of her life, her sense of right, and her willingness to do hard things make her a compelling character. A miraculous healing brought me to tears. The heart-pounding escape from the gang will leave readers breathless.

Under Water is a tale of terror, violence, desperation, survival, fear, faith, and tremendous love. A moving story, impossible to forget or put aside.

Powers includes an Author's Note and a very helpful reference character list as well as a glossary of Zulu words and idioms.

The world is my ocean. I will find my way in it.

Getting Acquainted with South Africa

Introduce students to the history and culture of South Africa and the Zulu People. These resources may serve as a starting point for further exploration.

Disclosure: I have limited knowledge of South African life, past or present. I can't speak to the authenticity of the experiences described in this novel. I can only address my personal reactions to this incredible work of fiction.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: March 19, 2019 Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press ISBN: 978-1947627048

Trivial Pursuits

12/28/2018

100 Questions About Oceans by Simon Abbott

What did one tide pool say to the other tide pool?
Show me your mussels!

Simon Abbott's subject-specific trivia books are jam-packed with fascinating factoids.

100 Questions and About Oceans covers a wide range of ocean-related data including basic underwater geography and ecology, ecosystems, marine animal records, well-known marine biologists, historical shipwrecks, and protecting aquatic life.

Information is presented as a series of questions with corresponding answers, formatted in brief easy-to-read statements.

How does the goblin shark hunt in the dark?
Its snout is lined with natural sensors called ampulae, which detect weak electrical fields from living creatures. The shark simply tracks down its prey, open its retractable jaws, and ... chomp!

Bright colors fill the pages. Animalia have expressive faces with googly eyes and winsome smiles. Some scientific terms and animal species names appear in bold face type with the pronunciation in parenthesis.

Text is replete with puns that will delight young readers and probably elicit groans from adults.

Why did the fish blush?
Because it saw the ocean's bottom!

This kid-friendly series is sure to be a hit with those who enjoy interesting and sometimes obscure informational tidbits.

More Questions & Answers

Copy provided by publisher

Pub date: December 1, 2018 Publisher: Peter Pauper Press, Inc. ISBN: 978-1441329394

Low and Slow

10/2/2018

Lowriders Blast from the Past
by Cathy Camper ill Raúl the Third

One look at the Lowriders Blast from the Past cover and it is evident that readers of this series are in for a totally different experience.

The first two covers feature dark backgrounds synonymous with outer space and inner earth. Lupe's sweet ride, the modified Chevy Impala, cruises proudly across the cover.

This third book cover features a warm light tone. The signature lowrider automobile has been replaced. This ride is pedal-powered. Equally striking is Lupe Impala. Her distinctive facial feature, her nose, is much smaller and her hair is a mass of short curls.

With this episode Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third take us the back in time. We meet young Lupe, traveling on a bike, similar to her transportation at the beginning of Lowriders in Space.

Initial pages introduce the backstories of the threesome.

Young mechanic Lupe Impala, her Mamá Impala owns of a junk store and Mamá Gazelle creates tissue paper decorations.
Elirio Mararia mosquito, an artist whose father helps him collect words.
El Chavo Flapjack octopus, cleaning expert whose family are talented performers.

The trio encounter Los Matamoscas (The Flyswatters), who destroy Flappy’s bike and deface Elirio’s outdoor murals. The new friends team up repair the damage and then prepare Lupe’s moms’ car for a Lowriders competition. Los Matamoscas impose a series of bizarre rules that will disqualify Impala and Gazelle. The youngsters jump into the fray and triumphantly meet each obstacle. Their car enters and wins the competition. Even better, they enlist the help of their former tormentors and together create a stunning mural.

Clever wordplay sparkles throughout. Flapjack the octopus is taunted by the bullies: "Get a backbone, invertebrate!" Illustrations are replete with Spanish/English humor. Road sign messages read "Neighborhood Watchalo" and "Cash for Kahlo 07-06-1907."

The comic is chock full of Spanish words, phrases, and slang. It is expertly woven into the text, enriching the reader's exposure to Latino culture. Spanish words are noted with an English translation footnote at the bottom of each page. Camper enriches the narrative with the use of indigenous words. Back matter provides details on Indigenous American languages and a glossary of Spanish words and phrases, along with English translations.

Raul the Third is at the top of his game. The art is stunning and includes homages to Mexican American artists Gamboa, Bronk, Herrón, and Valdez. Panels brim with lively personality and intense action. A bonus selection of sketches can be found in the back matter.

This is one time when low and slow is not the way to go. Immediately get your hands on a copy of Lowriders Blast from the Past. It is magnífico!

Riding with Lupe, Elirio, and Flappy

Cruise on down to your local bookstore or library for the first two volumes in the series.

Bonus Discussion: Code Switching

In recent years, however, scholars have found there is sophisticated brain work behind code-switching, or CS, the linguistic term for switching between two languages in one conversation.

A hallmark of this series is the blending of two languages within the text. Spanish idioms and slang add significant value to the story as they authentically and accurately convey ideas and emotions. Historically, there has been some controversy over the use of this form of combining two languages, often referred to as Spanglish. NBC recently published an interesting piece on code switching, Read more here.

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 2, 2018 Publisher: Chronicle Books ISBN: 978-1452163154

If You Dare

9/10/2018

The Darkdeep by Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs

The Darkdeep feeds off fear. Fear. Inside us.

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked for a scary book, I could own a pair of Jimmy Choos. Let's face it: kids love creepy, spine tingling stories. Over time, this genre has consistently retained its appeal. R.L. Stein never goes out of style. Gaiman's Coraline, Black's Doll Bones, Baptist's The Jumbies, and Oppel's The Nest deliver contemporary horror to legions of young audiences.
Now, a dynamic writing duo has tapped into middle grade fascination with horror. Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs invite kids to explore The Darkdeep.

What if your worst nightmare came to life? What if the object of your childhood fears attacked you? What if a group of friends discovered that the terrifying figments of their collective imaginations took form?

Twelve -year-old explorers Nico, Taylor, Emma, and Opal discover a mysterious island hidden beneath massive cliffs. A strange-looking houseboat is moored on the island’s pond. Filled with a collection of the bizarre, this floating oddity feels like a “psychopath’s attic.” But even more intriguing is a swirling pool of black liquid at the bottom of the houseboat.

When Emma gets too close to the whirlpool, the opaque waters drag her into its chilly blackness. She senses a mysterious power which can “spy inside my head.” Soon each member of the group discovers that plunging into the deepness causes personal imaginary creatures to materialize. Everything from unicorns to dinosaurs begins to take shape and briefly inhabit the island. Gradually the embodiment of their imaginings become more sinister and more permanent. These monsters become horrific, bent on attacking and killing. The kids’ worst nightmares have become their community’s worst nightmare.

Tension is counterbalanced with the most ridiculous community festival yet to appear in kid lit. A radish festival. I kid you not. There are to be radish costumes, a parade and a pageant with the winner declared Citizen Radish. Note: I would like to have been a fly on the wall when the authors came up with this story element.

The narrative comes to a satisfying conclusion but Condie and Reichs drop tantalizing hints suggesting that the horror isn’t over. There is something else on that houseboat. As it did with the young protagonists in the story, The Darkdeep will entice readers with more mysterious secrets. They will breathlessly await the continuation of the story. Let’s hope they don’t have too long to wait.

Bonus

Coming to a city near you.... The Darkdeep launches a ten city tour, beginning October 1, 2018.

One lucky person's will appear in next The Darkdeep book. Check out this offer to have a character named after you in the sequel.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 2, 2018 Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books ISBN: 978-1547600465