83. Didi Dodo Future Spy: Robo-Dodo Rumble

Robo-Dodo Rumble (Didi Dodo, Future Spy #2) Tom Angleberger. Illustrated by Jared Chapman. 2019. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My phone rang. “Hello, this is Koko Dodo’s Cookie Shop. Koko Dodo speaking! What are you telling me?” I said. “How-dee, neigh-bor,” said a robot voice. “Would you like to—” “Wait just a minute!” I interrupted. “Is this one of those robocalls?” “What is a ro-bo-call?” asked the robot voice. “You know! One of those awful calls where you answer the phone and all you hear is a recording and the recording wants to sell you something.”

Premise/plot: Koko Dodo our cookie chef has a BIG DEAL problem. Didi Dodo steps up (again) to help. The problem??? Well, a Robo-Dodo has opened up a cookie shop right next door. And all of Koko's regular customers are being swayed by the price. Robo-Dodo is luring customers with a gimmick. ALL YOU CAN EAT COOKIES for only one penny. The cookies, well, they don't taste good. But ALL YOU CAN EAT of something you can barely stomach for just ONE PENNY. It's proving irresistible...

Koko and Didi must team up to figure out what to do next....but another BIG DEAL problem may be heading their way...

My thoughts: This book was just a JOY to read. I loved it so much. I have loved both Didi Dodo books so much. There's just so much silliness.

Highly recommend this author. 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

82. Pizza and Taco: Too Cool for School

Pizza and Taco: Too Cool for School. (Pizza and Taco #4) Stephen Shashkan. 2022. [June] 72 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Wait up!

Premise/plot: Pizza and Taco are back for their fourth adventure. In this new graphic novel for young readers, Pizza and Taco are heading off to school. But both are struggling with this notion of "coolness." Pizza has a new backpack with his favorite, favorite TV character on it. But once he's at school among his classmates, IS THAT CHARACTER actually actually cool???? Or is that television show for babies? The theme of coolness continues throughout. It seems to be contagious among the class. But does being caught up in "being cool" keep you from having fun, living life, and being true to yourself?

My thoughts: I loved the second and third book of this series. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED them. I didn't love this fourth book as much. But I still think the series is a fun and appealing.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

81. Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business

Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business (Mindy Kim #1) Lyla Lee. Illustrated by Dung Ho. 2020. 96 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My name is Mindy Kim. I’m seven and a half years old. That’s old enough to ride a bike around our street, but not old enough to have my own puppy—or at least that’s what my dad said.
I don’t really agree with him, but our old apartment in California wasn’t big enough for a puppy anyway. I looked it up, and the experts on the Internet say that puppies need lots of room to run outdoors.
Now that we’ve moved into a house with a big backyard, we can really get a puppy! I just have to convince my dad that it’s a good idea first. So far, no such luck. Dad wants me to prove that I can be “responsible” enough for a puppy first… and then he’ll “consider” getting me one.

Premise/plot: This is the first in a new illustrated [early] chapter book. Mindy Kim and her newly widowed father have recently moved from California to Florida. Now she'll be starting a new school and having to make new friends. On the first day of school, Mindy Kim "sticks out" perhaps not in a good way. She's teased for her lunch. But then something happens: she dares her classmates to *try* her lunch, namely her dried seaweed. Mindy Kim is not surprised, but readers may be, to discover that her classmates seem to LOVE her seaweed snacks. So much so that they'll trade just about anything and everything to get more of her yummy seaweed. 

Meanwhile, in other news, Mindy Kim wants a PUPPY. She is convinced that a puppy not only would make her super-super-super happy but also cheer up her grieving father.

My thoughts: I liked this one. Mindy Kim is not an excitable heroine. She's not Clementine or Ramona or Junie B Jones. She isn't a trouble-maker or attention-seeker. She isn't horribly misunderstood. She's not weird, quirky, or eccentric. All this to say I found her a bit more relatable. The conflict in this one is a bit understated. (Which I don't mind in a book most of the time.)  

I thought Mindy was nice and sweet. I liked getting to know her. I think she's someone I would like to know better. I'm probably a thousand times more likely to seek out the second book in this series than the second book in the Eerie Elementary series.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

80. The Last Firehawk: The Ember Stone

The Ember Stone (The Last Firehawk #1) Katrina Charman. Illustrated by Jeremy Norton. 2017. 96 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: TA – RAAAA! A horn sounded through Valor Wood. Tag watched as owls of all sizes swooped down from the trees. Training time! Tag thought, excitement bubbling in his tummy.

Premise/plot: The Last Firehawk: The Ember Stone is the first in a new series for young readers. It is animal fantasy packed with plenty of action and adventure. Tag, our protagonist, is an owl who wants more than anything to become an Owl of Valor, a warrior. He wants to help battle against the evil Thorn, a vulture. And quite by accident Tag may have made quite a significant contribution...in an unexpected way. He happens upon an egg that hatches....wait for it, wait for it....the last firehawk. And it is this new friend who may make all the difference in the world. And it starts with the friends--Tag, the firehawk, and Skyla (a squirrel) searching for the Ember Stone. 

My thoughts: I liked this one just fine. I wasn't personally on the edge of my seat. But I wouldn't necessarily expect to be. Part of me wishes it wasn't an owl book. Again, that is just me. I do like animal fantasy in general. This is definitely that plus a good old-fashioned quest-to-save-the-world action packed novel. The first books in such series are rarely the best of the bunch--just a fact. 

There are illustrations on every page.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

79. The School Is Alive (Eerie Elementary #1)

Eerie Elementary: The School Is Alive. Jack Chabert. Illustrated by Sam Ricks. 2014. 96 pages. [Source: Library]
 

First sentence: “This is HORRIBLE!” said Sam Graves. He was holding up a shiny orange sash. “I can’t believe I have to wear this.” It was Monday morning, and Sam and his best friends Antonio and Lucy were standing in front of their lockers.

Premise/plot: Sam Graves was not thrilled to be named hall monitor even before he knew the job came with thrills and chills. But the custodian, Mr. Nekobi, has hand-picked him to be "the one." The magic, chosen one who can protect the students of Eerie Elementary from the school itself. As the title states out right, the school is alive...and the students are NOT safe. It will be up to Sam (and to a lesser degree his friends Antonio and Lucy) to save everyone. But first he'll have to survive it himself. 

My thoughts: Heavily illustrated chapter book for young readers. That is definitely one way to describe this one. It does offer "thrills and chills" for a young(er) audience. No adult who reads 'real' horror (for their own age group) is going to find this one too scary or daring. 

Horror, even horror lite, is not my favorite or best genre or subgenre. I can say that now as an adult. And I can remember back to my own childhood. This book wouldn't have been "for me" then either. I'd hate to think of how more terrifying my childhood could have been if the idea of METAL FOLDING CHAIRS COMING TO LIFE AND EATING PEOPLE had been introduced through a book. 

The book celebrates the absurd through a darker lens than say Tom Angleberger (who keeps things hilariously absurd....and way over the top.) 

I do think *some* kids will think this book and subsequent books in the series to be great fun. And any book that gets a child super-excited about reading, that keeps readers coming back for more, more, more has some value. 

I don't think every children's book should be the samey-same. I don't think children's books should be exclusively bunnies, unicorns, and ballerinas. 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers