As a child, did you ever drop your ice cream cone on the ground, before you even got to have a lick? Wasn't it tragic! Were you ever the "new kid" at school? How horrible were all those eyes on you when you walked into the classroom for the first time? Did you ever take swimming lessons? That diving board was waaaaaaaaaay to high to ever jump off of! And horror of horrors, "Great-Aunt Matilda" coming at you to pinch your cheeks! Don't even mention The Dentist, we just won't go there! These are just a few of the Twelve Terrible Things that Marty Kelley shows us. The minimal text is effective in conveying the message of what is "terrible" to a young child. It is the illustrations, however, that make this my new favorite picture book. Kelley's watercolors portray exactly what a child would see in each event. The details are great. For example, look at "Great-Aunt Matilda's" chin and in the road trip picture each family member has great facial expression. A must-read for everyone. Adults will most likely be more entertained than children just because it will dredge up some childhood memories for them.
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit
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