Most Memorable Books From the Last 10 Years--Part Two

OK, guys, you've seen Part One. Here is another list. Since there are so many, I'm simply going to list them without any comments and I'll put them into three categories. Look them up; our library system has plenty. If you want to learn more about them, check out the Labels section under this post. As I said in the last post, these may not necessarily be the best but they are what has impressed the Iron Guy the most over the last 10 years. (and, yes, other reader guys have enjoyed them as well!)

Most Memorable Nonfiction

The Boys in the Boat

Stubby the War Dog

Lincoln: A Photobiography

Howard Bryant's Legends books

The Last River

Most Memorable Graphic Novels

The Bone series

The Fangbone series

The Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series

The Lunch Lady series

Funniest

Big Nate

The Alvin Ho series

The Brixton Brothers series

The Boys vs Girls series

The audiobook version of Science Fair

OK, once again, what do you think of this list? Do you agree this is a truly awesome list that should be remembered for the next 1000 years or is it the most bogus list ever assembled? And did I leave anything out? (Like the Wimpy Kid? There a good reason for that too)

Write in and let me know what you think! Hopefully, there are a few of your favorites in here. And if not, maybe you'll find something that will become a new favorite of yours!

Most Memorable Books From the Last 10 Years--Part One

Hey, everybody, I appreciate all the kind comments on the last post. If no one minds, I will take the next two or three posts to talk about some of my favorite reads from the last 10 years. Plus, I'll post lists from a couple of blogging friends. Now the Iron Guy has read a lot of books over that time and could probably pull up a list ten pages long but I will spare you that. Instead, I'm going to tell you about the books that jump immediately to mind. You know how it is--if someone asked you, "What are your favorite movies?" you would come with a bunch without even thinking about it. Same thing here. If you asked me, "What have been your favorite reads over the last ten years?",
this this is what I would say immediately:

(PS--These aren't in any order and the sizes of the pictures don't mean I liked one better than any other)




The first Percy Jackson series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

What can I say? Boys everywhere LOVE these books!! Maybe my top favorite of all.








The Barnstormers/Sluggers series

Haven't read them? You should. A really unique blend of baseball, history and fantasy.
(For some reason, they changed the name of the series from "Barnstormers" to "Sluggers" halfway through the series)






The Copernicus Legacy (and The Copernicus Archives)

Man. Oh. Man. Thrills, more thrills, mystery, time travel and one of the most memorable villains ever!







The Yearling

Possibly the best book none of you boys have read. An epic story that grabbed me like few others have. A great story about growing from boyhood to mature manhood.


Treasure Island



The best pirate story ever written! Yeah, it's from a long time ago but the language isn't much different from today's and I bet you wouldn't have much trouble with it.




The Leviathan trilogy


Walking mechanical war machines, genetically-altered animals as war machines, alternate history of WWI--how great is this??





The Brixton Brothers Mysteries

Good mysteries and funny, funny, funny! And the audiobook versions by the great Arte Johnson are terrific.







The Boys vs Girls series

These also are funny, funny, funny but also--well, there are no big dramatics, no space battles, no evil wizards but one of the best stories I've ever read about boys (and girls) living out their everyday lives, going to school, getting into or out of trouble and doing things we all could relate to. I want to live in this town! Plus, the ending gave me the strongest reaction I've had to any of these series.


OK, I'm not saying these are the best of the last 10 years but they are the ones that I've enjoyed the most. Do you agree? Or not? Have I left something out?
(Like Harry Potter? There's a good reason) If you agree with this list or if you don't, write a comment in the Comments section under this post. We love to hear what other people think!

Reid Scores Even More Points--Including a Two-Pointer!

Man, oh, man, the excitement just keeps growing! The Iron Guy (that's me!) is thrilled to report that we have two more reviews from our friend Reid. Let's not waste any time but hear what he has to say:

Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs is about the same kid from my review of Spy School, Ben Ripley who goes to a camp that is survival training for agents attending Spy School. There the same organization tries to capture Ben. Ben tries to leave camp secretly but fails when SPYDER, the organization tracks him. He is saved by his girlfriend Erica and Erica's dad who is a spy that takes the credit of things awesome spies did so everyone thinks he is the best spy ever. Then Erica's grandpa comes in to save them but SPYDER revealed that they were going for Cyrus, the grandpa and captures Erica and Cyrus.
This book is fun because it keeps me guessing at every turn. It is exciting and always has my attention.
Read the book to find out if Ben can save his friends or if he will also be lured into the trap!

That's great, Reid! I asked the other day if you had read any other book in this series and it look like you have! Have you read Evil Spy School yet?

The Boys Start The War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is about three boys that live in a house and have best friends that live in a next door house and then their best friends move to Georgia and have their house for rent the new family that moves in has three girls. The boys want their friends back so they start a war on the girls. The girls fight back when school comes. They play all sorts of tricks on each other. The book is intriguing and keeps me guessing at the turns. It is funny and hooks me onto the series. I love this book and I hope you do to if you read it.


Thanks, Reid! You have really scored big, not only on the game but also with me. The Boys vs Girls series are one of my all-time favorites and I hope you read all of them. You will smile, laugh and keep guessing a lot. If you'd like to see what I've said about them, click on the "Boys vs Girls"  tab under this post. Ms Reynolds was also nice enough to give me an interview and answer some questions about those books--check out that interview here.

Right. Let's check the new standings:
REID--10 points
GRAM--2 points
JUDE--1 point

Look at that! Reid just keeps burning them in like Steph Curry! Is there any stopping him? Well, there is still time to send in more reviews, boys! Got some more, Gram? Jude? Reid? Anyone else? The final NCAA Tournament game is tonight  (GO CAROLINA!) but you have until midnight tomorrow night, that's April 5, to send more reviews and earn more points. We deserve to have an epic finish to the March Madness of Reading Contest!!

This Turkey Is Thankful For...2015 edition

Greetings, reader guys everywhere! Every year around Thanksgiving, the Iron Guy writes

a post about things for which he is thankful. If we think about it even for a little while, I'm sure we all could come up with a lot of things to be grateful for. Here are just a few for me:

First, it's been a good year at our library. We had visits from two local authors, one from E. K. Smith, author of the Alien Dude series, and one from Dave McDonald, the Hamster S.A.M. author and illustrator. These books are especially good for guys--in fact, Ms. Smith said she came up with the Alien Dude books when she couldn't find any early reading books that her son would like! (take a look at the Alien Dude and Hamster SAM labels under this post to find out more)

Second, we had a good time with the Boys Read and Write Club this year. Several different guys came between April and July, read books and wrote reviews of them for this blog. Eventually I had to discontinue the club because we couldn't get enough boys to show up every month (it's hard to keep a book club going, especially during the busy school year) but it  was very good to see boys get excited about reading.

Third, the Iron Guy was very honored to have an interview in July with the great Phyllis Reyonlds Naylor. She's a very well known and respected author and wrote, among many other things, the very funny Boys vs Girls series. I'm very thankful that she gave an interview to this humble blog and I'm glad to say that she's a delightful person! I've also seen the first book in the series, The Boys Start the War, get checked out several times and I'm very thankful that others are getting turned onto these terrific books.


Fourth, I'm very grateful for author Tony Abbott and The Copernicus Legacy, that ultra-fantastic new book series. I haven't been so excited about such new books in years--not since I read The Lightning Thief way back in 2007. It would take me all day to talk about these books, so click on "The Copernicus Legacy" label under this post and see my enthusiastic reviews. I've just started The Golden Vendetta and am happily looking forward to getting lost in it.

Finally, in light of all the terrible events of  the last week, I'm grateful that we live in a country where we are free to read what we like. Any one of you  reader guys could go into your local library and check out whatever you'd like (with your parents' permission, of course) And you don't have to worry about soldiers banging on your door in the night because of the books in your house. That's not true in some places in the world. We shouldn't take this lightly, everyone.
And I'm very thankful for the brave men and women in this country and others who defend that  right. And I'm very glad to be in the fine Charlotte Mecklenburg library system that makes sure boys (and girls) have free access to books. And I'm also thankful for the many bloggers like our good friend Ms. Yingling who keep me and other grownups informed of terrific books.

So let's put this into practice--what books are you thankful for this year? Is it something you've read already or something you're reading now? Tell us in the Comments section--we'd love to know!

Thanks.

Update--today, Nov. 23, is Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, hosted by author Shannon Messenger.

Check it out to find some truly cool books.

How Unbelievably Cool! An Interview with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor!

Hey, everyone, this is Iron Guy Carl and our blog is honored today! One of the most well-known authors in the whole realm of kid books has given us an interview. I'm talking, of course, about the one and only Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of 140 books (!), including Shiloh, a modern-day classic and a great book for guys, one that you'll probably read in high school. Included in that noteworthy list of books is the whole Boys vs Girls series that I wrote about over the last few months. Those books were soooo good that I had to write Ms. Naylor and ask her a few questions. And she was good enough to answer them! Let's hear what she had to say:

         

Ms. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Iron Guy Carl: I’ve heard this nasty rumor that it’s uncool for boys to read. I bet you disagree. Tell us why.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor:  Why in the world would it be uncool for boys to read?  Guys write, don't they?  Some of our best stories and books are written by guys!  Boys often have great adventures and pretty wild imaginations, so it's not surprising that some of them write wonderful books when they grow up.

 

IGC:  I’ve heard the story of how you came to write the Boys vs. Girls series but most of our boys probably haven’t heard it. Would you tell it to us?

PRN: A publisher had asked me to think about writing a new series, but I wasn't sure I wanted to get involved with another one. I told them that if I could think of a universal theme, I might do it, but I'd have to think about it. Then one day I was going to speak to a huge crowd of students in an elementary school. As they entered the gym, they were laughing and shouting and having a good time, and it didn't bother me a bit, as I hadn't started my talk.  But it evidently did bother one of the teachers, because he yelled, "If you don't quiet down I'm going to seat you boy/girl/boy/girl, and instantly the whole gym was quiet. I thought this was pretty funny, and said to myself, "That's it!  The way boys and girls feel about each other at this age. I'll write a series, and the first book will be, "The Boys Start the War." The second will be, "The Girls Get Even."

IGC: I know it isn’t fair to ask this type of question of authors but I just have to know—what do you think is the funniest episode in those books? (there are so many to choose from!)

PRN: You know, it's been a long time since I wrote those books, but the first episode that comes to mind is in the very first book, after the boys have dumped some dead birds on the girls'side of the river to make them think the water is polluted.  So the girls, knowing the boys are spying on them, carry Caroline down to the water in a sheet, as though she is dead, and with a great show of tears, dump her into the water. 

IGC: There are twelve books in this series, one for each month of the year. That’s a lot!Was it hard to write that many books? Was it hard to keep coming up with so many funny incidents? And it took 13 years to write all of them. That’s a long time! Was it difficult to keep it going all that time? Did you keep writing only those books during that time or did you work on others? And did you plan out the whole series before you started or did you make it up as you went along? (Yes, these are a lot of questions under one question!)

PRN: Well, considering that I recently completed an "Alice" series, of 28 books, that took 28 years to write, twelve books didn't seem like so many.  A series book, once I know the characters and setting well, usually takes about six months to write, and then I have six months to write something else.  I kept a long list of various events  that could take place in each book, and once I got started writing, other things naturally came to mind.

   IGC: The town of Buckman, West Virginia is based on the real town of Buckhannon,        WV, where your husband is from. Did you go there very often? Have you been there         since the books were published? If so, has the town changed much? Is Oldakkers Book     Store still there?

 PRN: I've been there a number of times, both to research the series and for  college reunions. The last I heard, that bookstore is still there, with the trap door in the floor. (I climbed down the ladder to take a peek)  It's been several years since we were back, so perhaps the store has a different name now, I'm not sure. The first time my husband took me there after we were married, one of the swinging footbridges across the river was still there. When he was  growing up, there were two. The lovely college has expanded with a number of new  buildings, but the house on Island Avenue where my husband lived is much like it was.

IGC: One more thing—the first book was published in 1993 before there were smart phones or even cell phones. In the first book Caroline gets locked in a tool shed and has to wait until someone came around to let her out. Do kids ever ask you why she didn’t just use her phone to call her sisters? And there was no email. The Hartford boys actually wrote letters to the Bensons—and had to wait for letters to come back! Do any kids tell you it seems strange nowadays?

PRN: I've not heard that, but I suppose it must seem strange. Cell phones make huge problems for writers. It used to be that we had to think of clever ways to get the parents out of the picture so that when a kid was faced with a problem, he had to solve it himself.  Now, if every kid has a cell phone in his pocket, where's the conflict in that?  I think that's one reason so many writers write fantasy.  No problem about cell phones there.  Actually, I have a new book coming out in January called GOING WHERE IT'S DARK, in which a boy gets into great difficult inside a cavern. He has a cell phone, but there's no service.

IGC: The last question. I ask this of all authors. Which do you prefer—cheeseburgers or pizza?  What
do you like on them?

PRN: Hmmm. That's close. A thin-crust pizza with mushrooms and sausage, please.

Got one coming up! Thanks, Ms. Reynolds! We really appreciate it. If you guys would like to know more about Ms. Reynolds and her books, including the terrific Boys vs. Girls series, check out her new website at www.phyllisnaylor.com     

And in honor of your outstanding books and being so good to let us interview you, we're going to give you the greatest honor we could possibly bestow and make you an Honorary Guy.

That's right--you now have the right to crack all the goofy jokes you'd like, make obnoxious noises at sporting events and eat insane amounts of food with no nutritional value. Yes, I know you're stunned at the greatness of this honor but don't worry--you've earned it!

All silliness aside, we truly appreciate your coming here and talking to us. And I'm going to look for your new book! Thanks again and, boys, be sure to check out her website but, more importantly, head over to your local library and check out her books!

(PS--if you'd like to see what the Iron Guy has said about the Boys vs Girls books, click on the "Boys vs Girls" tab under this post)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And Who DID Win the Boys vs Girls War?

Ah, faith and begora, and it's a happy St. Patrick's Day I hope you're having! This is Iron Guy O'Carl, wearing his green and enjoying the day. St. Patrick was a really remarkable guy. I hope you find some good biographies of him at your library because it's quite a story--being abducted by slavers, escaping and going back several years later to minister to the very nation who had captured him. That takes a truly MANLY MAN! But beside that, you could make a very strong argument that we might not even have libraries today if it had not been for Patrick of Ireland. He established a lot of monasteries around those Celtic isles and they were about the only places that had books. After Rome fell and the tide of barbarism swept over Europe, bringing in the Dark Ages, those monasteries kept books and reading alive. So we owe a lot to that man and have a good reason to celebrate!

And I have another reason--I've finally finished the Boys vs Girls series by the great Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It's been a lot, a lot, a LOT of fun to read and I'm sorry that it's over! If you haven't read any of my reviews of the other books, (which you could do by clicking on the Girls Against the Boys tab under this post) here's the background:

The books take place in the town of Buckman, West Virginia and involves two families, the Hartfords and Malloys. The Hartfords have four boys: 11-year-old twins Jake and Josh, nine-year-old Wally and seven-year-old Peter. Their best friends are their neighbors, the Benson boys. But then, Mr. Benson, a coach, takes a job in Georgia and the Malloy family rents his house for a year. The Hartford boys really miss their friends but look forward to having new boys move in. Imagine their reactions, then, when they learn that their new neighbors will be girls!! They decide to pull so many tricks on these new girls that their lives will be miserable and they'll  move away--but they don't count on the smartness and resilience of the three girls--eleven-year-old Eddie (Edith Ann), eight-year-old Caroline and nine-year-old Beth. Sometimes the tricks against the girls work but then the girls pull pranks of their own! And sometimes things happen that no one expects! That's when things get really funny!

But, with these last three books, the school year ends and the Malloys may have to move back to Ohio. The boys AND the girls start reflecting on all their tricks and pranks and realize what fun they've had. Good heavens--will they actually MISS each other???

Girls Rule--it's the last month of school. It's also the month for the annual Strawberry Festival. The kids who make enough money for the new children's wing of the hospital get either all the strawberry snacks they want or a chance to get into the parade. How will they make enough? After a lot of failed ideas, someone thinks of a car wash. But the girls and boys have to work at it together--can that possibly happen?


Boys Rock (oh, yeah!! Gotta love that title!)--the school year is over and summer living is easy. But there are summer assignments for school. Either they have to read books off a list or put out three issues of a newspaper. They decide on the newspaper but guess what? Eddie gets to be editor-in-chief! Will that cause trouble? What do you think! And what does Caroline see in the window of the old (maybe haunted) house? And what does Wally think lives under the trapdoor of Oldakkers' bookstore? You won't guess--but you will smile when you read about them! (ps--Mr. Malloy has to decide if he'll stay in Buckman or move back to Ohio)

Who Won the War?--now it's the end of summer. Will the Malloys move or stay? I won't tell you!! You'll have to find out for yourself! But there is a big twist in the middle that may be the best incident yet. And also--will Mad Bomber Bill actually blow anything up?



One of the very great pleasures of running this blog is finding books that don't get as much attention as the latest and hottest favorites. These books are some of the most fun I've read for a long while and they certainly deserve to have  more guys reading them. So get over to your library! Read them! Enjoy them! I bet you'll have as much fun as I did.

Note to the grownups: These books are like a breath of pure fresh air. Our good friend Ms Yingling has complained about all the depressing books published these days. Well, here's a welcome antidote to all that. The kids pull pranks but nothing seriously bad happens, although, in the spirit of reality, some things could have happened and the parents make sure their kids know it. And that's the great thing--all the parents are alive, they care about their kids and they are smart and involved. And both the boys and girls are good but not unrealistic. They do chores without complaining, are respectful but yet sneak off to pull a prank or fulfill a dare.
One more thing--there are twelve books in this series. The first came out in 1993 before email, smartphones or widespread use of the Internet. When one girl gets locked in a shed by the boys, she waits until her sisters come by and she yells. Some of your readers might say, "Why didn't she just whip out her phone and call for help?" And the boys send actual letters to their friends in Georgia in the first few books!! Could your kids even imagine that these days? These things may make the earlier books hard to relate to but both boys and girls can relate to all the funny stuff that happens. One more thing--the last book came out in 2006. By then the boys send emails to their friends, play video games and the girls use a story off the Internet to fool the boys. Much more up-to-date. Yet they spend a rainy afternoon playing Monopoly and summer days on a rope swing--not staring at hand-held devices. More fresh air.

So listen up, boys! Play your video games on your computers if you'd like but ride bikes! Play board games! Read books! There's a lot of fun in these things.

More Boys vs Girls

All right! All right! The Iron Guy must shamefacedly admit that I STILL have not kept my 2014 Resolution of reading all the books in the Boys vs Girls series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. So if you want to flog me, go ahead and get the wet noodles. In the meantime, let me tell you about the ones I have read recently. These are great and each one gets better. If you want to see what I've said about the other books, look here and here and here. And if you haven't read any of these before, here's the lowdown on the story:

The books take place in the town of Buckman, West Virginia and involves two families, the Hartfords and Malloys. The Hartfords have four boys: 11-year-old twins Jake and Josh, nine-year-old Wally and seven-year-old Peter. Their best friends are their neighbors, the Benson boys. But then, Mr. Benson, a coach, takes a job in Georgia and the Malloy family rents his house for a year. The Hartford boys really miss their friends but look forward to having new boys move in. Imagine their reactions, then, when they learn that their new neighbors will be girls!! They decide to pull so many tricks on these new girls that their lives will be miserable and they'll  move away--but they don't count on the smartness and resilience of the three girls, who are eleven-year-old Eddie (Edith Ann), eight-year-old Caroline and nine-year-old Beth. Sometimes the tricks against the girls work but then the girls pull pranks of their own! And sometimes things happen that no one expects! That's when things get really funny!

OK, got that? Then we'll start with:

A Spy Among the Girls--The unthinkable has happened! After holding hands in that play, Josh and Beth actually--like each other! Josh says he's only pretending so that he can spy on the girls but then why does he and Beth go out of their way to be with each other? All the time? And then Eddie decides to do a science fair project to prove that boys are more gullible than girls. ("Gullible" means that you'll believe stupid things easily) And if all that weren't bad enough, Caroline decides, after watching Beth, that she wants to feel romance and tries to make Wally fall in love with her. No way!

The Boys Return--Hooray! The Hartford boys get great news! The Bensons are coming back to Buckman for a week during spring break. And all the Benson boys will stay at the Hartfords' house! What could be more fun? Well, how about a plan from the Benson boys to make the Malloy girls think their house is haunted? Will the girls fall for it? Maybe. But what's that noise Caroline hears late one night?


The Girls Take Over--Now it's April. The boys and girls make a bet--all of them will throw bottles with messages in them into the Buckman river. The bottle that travels the farthest by the end of the month will win. If a boy wins, the girls have to be his slaves and vice versa if a girl wins. Good idea, right? Wait--what if the boys try to cheat in order not to be slaves? And what if the girls try to cheat? Somebody had better do something quickly! And--Jake and Eddie both try out for pitcher on the school baseball team. Jake is known to be really good but the boys have watched Eddie practice and guess what? She's as good as he is! While all this goes on, Wally and Caroline both get into school's spelling bee. One will do well and the other one ends up in a disaster. Which one? Gotta read to find out!

Boys in Control--What an embarrassing development! The Hartford and Benson boys had taken some goofy pictures of each other for fun before the Bensons moved away--things like spaghetti your nose and wearing bunny pajamas two sizes too small. Guess who finds them in the basement--that's right, the Malloy girls! What could happen if those pictures got out! Caroline, however, strikes up a deal with Wally to get them back--but whenever Caroline gets an idea, there's usually unexpected (and funny!) trouble ahead.

As I said, each book gets better than the one before. Sometimes I even started to laugh even before all the tricks got under way because I KNEW their goofball ideas would turn out differently than what they planned. These books are so much fun that I look forward to whatever quiet minutes I find to read more. And the books are just the right length, about 120--140 pages, That way they're short enough to be fun yet long enough to let really get into the story. And you will really enjoy getting into these books, hanging out with the guys and girls, running back and forth between the Hartford and Malloy houses, crossing that swinging bridge or cheering for the Buckman Badgers baseball team. I'm going to miss that town and those kids when I finish these books.

Happy New Year and a Shot at Redemption

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had a great holiday season. Mine was fun even though I was sick for part of it. Too sick to do much reading. So that's one reason the Iron Guy is coming to you, asking for a chance for redemption. One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2014 was to read the entire Boys vs Girls series by the great Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Sad to say, I didn't make it. In fact, I've got six more books to read--well, five and a half, since I'm halfway through the sixth one. So the Iron Guy comes to you humbly, asking for a chance to redeem himself. To do so, I'll make every effort to read the rest of these books by the end of this month. Yes, I hear a collective gasp of astonishment from the cyber world but the Iron Guy is willing to go even that extreme to redeem himself from an epic fail!

Besides, I can't wait to tell you about these books. They are a lot of fun and I am having a really good time reading them. I reviewed the first one a long time ago (see the review here) and the second one back in October. (see that review here) Let me give you a little background before telling you about the others.

The stories take place in the town of Buckman, West Virginia and involves two families, the Hartfords and Malloys. (more about those names later) The Hartfords have four boys: 11-year-old twins Jake and Josh, nine-year-old Wally and seven-year-old Peter. Their best friends are their neighbors, the Benson boys. But then, Mr. Benson, a coach, takes a job in Georgia and the Malloy family rents his house for a year. The Hartford boys really miss their friends but look forward to having new boys move in. Imagine their reactions, then, when they learn that their new neighbors will be girls!! They decide to pull so many tricks on these new girls that their lives will be miserable and they'll  move away--but they don't count on the smartness and resilience of the three girls, who are eleven-year-old Eddie (Edith Ann), eight-year-old Caroline and nine-year-old Beth. Sometimes the tricks against the girls work but then the girls pull pranks of their own! And sometimes things happen that no one expects! That's when things get really funny. Here's a brief rundown of the books I've read:

Boys Against Girls--there's a mysterious creature lurking around Buckman called the abaguchie. Some say it's bigger than a cat or dog but not as big as one of the mountain lions that live in the hills. At least, that's what people say--no one ever seen it. Could Wally convince Caroline that there are abaguchie bones in the basement of Oldakker's bookstore? Could he convince her to sneak into the basement when no on'e's looking? And then what happens if he and his brothers stand on top of the trap door...? And then--are the two families really going to have Thanksgiving together??





The Girls' Revenge--Christmas is coming up and the teacher assigns a class project in which a student has to learn everything he or she can about another student and present their findings to the class. Much to Wally's disgust, Caroline Malloy picks him! But Wally doesn't know that Caroline is not only going to talk about Wally; she's going to BE Wally, dressing up like him even down to his underwear! On top of that, Wally and Caroline, without the other one knowing, decide to send prank Christmas gifts to each other--and Wally's embarassing gift to Caroline goes to the teacher!! And what happens when Mrs. Malloy drives into town but gets lost in a blizzard?



A Traitor Among the Boys--It's New Year's and, after some dramatic events at Christmas, the boys make a resolution to stop pulling so many pranks on the girls. But then, you know what happens to New Year's resolutions! In the meantime, the town of Buckman is celebrating a historic anniversary with a community play. Josh and Beth get dragged unwillingly into it--and then Josh has to "propose" to Beth in the play because the town was founded by a boy from one family marrying into the girl's family. Can he say that line convincingly to--to--a Malloy girl??




Yeah, these books are great reads! They may not make you hold your sides with laughter but they are funny. You'll smile a lot and truly get to like both the Hartford boys and the Malloy girls. I really got caught up in their lives, their feud and the town of Buckman seemed like a real place to me. I can't wait to finish the others. Don't you wait, either, guys! The library has plenty of copies. Don't delay; go start checking them out.

PS--some random notes:

There was actually a very famous feud back a long time ago in the West Virgina/Kentucky hills between two families called the Hatfields and McCoys. Hmmm--does that sound like Hartfords and Malloys?

The first few books in the series were written in the early 1990's before everyone had cell or smart phones. You should know that because it may explain a couple of things. For instance, in the first book, one of the girls gets locked in a shed and has to wait until one of her sisters comes along and finds her. You boys (or girls) may wonder, "Well, why didn't she just call/text someone to get her out?" Same thing when Mrs. Malloy gets lost in the blizzard; there weren't many cell phones at the time and no GPS devices that I now of. Don't worry--these things don't affect the stories or your enjoyment of them. They're just little curiosities. And it doesn't take long before the boys/girls are playing with Game Boys, sending emails and printing things off computers. Though you will notice in the first few books that the Hartford boys send letters to their Benson friends--and wait to get letters back! With all texting and Instagrams and Skype in the world today, have any of you boys actually sent a letter to a friend?

Our good friend Ms. Yingling has complained recently about all the depressing books for kids out there these days. In most of them, the parents are usually dead or severely disabled or really not very very good parents. Well, these books are a breath of fresh air because all the parents are living; they are not dead and they are not dimwits. The moms and dads are smart, caring and there when you need them. And furthermore, even with all  the pranks going on, no one is actually mean. It's refreshing to find books that are just plain good-natured fun. Try them, guys. You'll really enjoy them.

Halloween Fun!

Hey, guys, this is some kind of great! I get to post book reviews twice in one week and that hasn't happened for a very long time. (Of course, I shouldn't be so impressed with myself--the incredible Ms. Yingling posts book reviews every day!)

I'm going to take a chance and go into full-blown Old Geezer Dude mode. I've lived long enough to say, "When I  was a kid..." and will take full advantage of it. And with what I think is good reason. When I was a kid, (told you I'd say it!) Halloween was all about FUN. Candy. Putting on a cool costume. Trick or Treating. Candy. Going door-to-door with your friends and getting enough candy to last until Thanksgiving. Yes, I know kids still do that but now other stuff has crept in. Gruesome stuff. Grotesquely scary stuff. You know what I mean. You see it everywhere--in yards, in stores and don't even ask about what you see on TV or movies.  Back in my day you'd see bed sheet ghosts in trees or paper bats in stores. Yeah, there were scary movies and stories but all that was part of the fun. It was scary like being on a roller coaster was scary--you knew what to expect, you screamed but knew you'd be safe and you talked about how great it was afterward. And the grownups wouldn't let you do it until you were big enough. But I'm not being an old grump here: there's a reason all this stuff bothers me these days. You ARE what you put into your minds, guys. That why I don't want to fill my head with all the gruesome stuff that comes around (and gets worse) every year. That also why you don't see me reviewing truly scary books. So let's concentrate this year on FUN. And to do that, I'm going to recommend some really good books that guys everywhere would like and are all about FUN.

The first is from the terrific The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series. All of these are about the "pretty weird grownups" that come to Bailey school--and may be more than they appear to be. Or maybe not. In this one, Dracula Doesn't Drink Lemonade by Debbie Dadey and Marsh Thornton Jones, Bailey School gets a new guidance counselor. He's from overseas and has a foreign accent. He all pale, doesn't come out during the day and the kids who see him--well, they all turn all pale too! Could he really be...? No, couldn't be! But maybe...This book was a lot of fun and even the few chills were fun.





The next is a My Weird School Special by Dan Gutman. All guys know these books and how much fun they are. This one is no exception! In It's Halloween, I'm Turning Green, A.J. and friends go trick or treating. They hear that Mrs Yonkers has a special Halloween treat just for them. But no one knows where she lives. So they try to find her house but get lost! And they meet the Halloween Monster, who steals their candy. Will they ever find Mrs. Yonkers? Do teachers really paint him green? And what is the MicroMole 4000 Expandinator? You won't find out unless you read it, guys! And you'll laugh a bunch along the way.



The first two books are short and you can read them really quickly. It's kind of like eating one of those bite-size Butterfingers in your trick-or-treat bag. (I read the My Weird School book in about 30 minutes) The next one is a little longer but still reads quickly. And this come about almost by accident. I'm trying to finish up the reading from my 2014 New Year's Resolution (yes, a MANLY MAN sticks with a resolution, no matter now long it takes!) and this one was on my list--and it turned aout to be about Halloween! And it was a fun read! It's part of the War of the Girls and the Boys series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. In case you don't know, It's about the Hartford boys and the Malloy girls. The Benson boys were best friends with the Hartford boys but then they moved away. Mr. Benson rented the house to the Malloy family. The Hartford boys want their friends to move back, so they figure that, if they pull enough tricks on the Malloy girls, they will move away and the Bensons move back. Only thing, the girls pull as many tricks as the boys! In The Girls Get Even, the Hrtford boys and Malloy girls bet each other that they can win best costume in the Halloween parade.The losers have to be the slaves of the winners for a month. So they spy to find out what the others are amking. But nothing turns out they way they expect! What happens? Well, once again, I won't tell! You've got to read to find out! (PS--this sereis was written back in the Eighties, which explains why the Hartfords waited for weeks for the Benson boy to write. They waited for a letter!)

The last book was from the great Barbara Robinson, who wrote The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, one of the great books of all time. This one, The Best Halloween Ever, it's all about the Herdman kids again. The Herdmans. The worst kids in the world. They stuff kids in revolving doors. They take anchovies off pizzas and replace them with guppies. They hide during Halloween and steal everyone's candy and gum and money. They've gotten so bad, in fact, that they mayor called off Halloween. But the school decides to hold Halloween there, hopefully to keep Herdmans away. But Imogene Herdman finds out and tells all the kids that any place will be safer than school on Halloween night. So what happens? The lights go out. Kids go missing. And then--and then--well, the last thing you'd expect happens! This book  was great fun. Even reading about the Herdmans is fun. And funny. Get this and read it, guys! And it mentions Chunky Fruit and Nut candy! How long has it been since I've had one of those? They were yummy!

In fact, read all of these! Did I say they were fun? Maybe once or twice. They are Good Quick Reads and full of the humor guys love. Well, thanks for letting me get on my soapbox. Get these books,  enjoy them and, just for fun, tell me what is your favorite Halloween candy!