The Great Dan Gutman Question Anwered--For Now

Greetings, all my fellow reader guys. I hope you're enjoying your summer--and I hope youhave signed on for Summer Reading. If not, there's still plenty of time and lots of cool stuff to get for reading. I'm going to talk toady about an author that guys everywhere love. It's Dan Gutman, he of the My Weird School, Baseball Card Adventures, Genius Files series, as well as several other books. Many boys have written in over the years and told us how much they like his books. Not only did they like them, boys LOVED them! Especially the My Weird School series. Don't believe me? Click on the "Dan Gutman" tab under this post and see! Anyway, I've read a few of his books over the years (plus it was one of my 2014 Iron Guy Resolutions) and--and--well, I hate to admit it but--------

I wasn't impressed.

Now don't get me wrong. I didn't think his books were terrible; I just didn't think they were all that great. Let me give you a little background. I really liked the first DG book I read. It was Qwerty Stephens: Stuck in Time with Benjamin Franklin and I really liked it. In fact, I LOVED it! (see my review here) So I naturally thought all his books would be that good. And I was disappointed. I read Getting Air and it was OK. (see that review here)  I read another, The Homework Machine, wasn't impressed at all and didn't even review it. I even tried a couple of the My Weird School books but couldn't get into them. "So what's up with this?" I wondered. "Why do all these guys rave about Dan Gutman? Am I missing something?" It got to the point that I thought about making a special Controversy Post about him and calling it The Great Dan Gutman Question. I've done two Controversy Posts before. One was about Harry Potter (I'm not a big fan) and the other was about the Wimpy Kid books (I think Greg Heffley's a jerk) The Iron Guy is never afraid of expressing a reading opinion when it's not popular, but, in true MANLY MAN fashion, I decided to rethink my position before saying something I'd regret. Truly MANLY MEN always think before speaking!! Anyway, I checked out two My Weird School books and, wow, am I glad! These books are indeed terrific!!

The first one I read was the first one in the series, Miss Daisy is Crazy! Here we are introduced to AJ, who hates school. But even he can read, write and add. So how come his teacher, Miss Daisy, can't do any of those things? A teacher who can't read? Write? Add? Hey, that might be cool after all--that teacher couldn't make you work! But AJ and his friends  still hate school anyway--which gives them an idea. Maybe they could buy the school and turn it into a video arcade. Sounds great, huh? Do you think they can do it? You'll have to read to find out!

The other one was Mr. Jack is a Maniac form the My Weirder School series.In this one, a guy rides up onto the school playground on a motorcycle! Turns out that he's new martial arts teacher who's going to teach the some self-defense moves, how to breathe and to expect the unexpected. So what does Mr. Jack do when the truly unexpected happens--like a bear walking into the gym!! What will Mr. Jack do? Check out this book to find out!

These books are funny, funny and I need to say one more thing about them--they're funny!! The situations are wacky, the grownups are wacky and the kids are truly like second-grade kids everywhere--like being impatient with martial arts training. Except they come up with some wacky ideas too--like buying the school!
I really enjoyed these books and I can see why guys everywhere like them. Not to mention they're fast, good and quick read. Enthusiastic readers, as well as those the grownups call reluctant readers, will enjoy these books. So count me in as a Dan Gutman fan! At least, for now. I like these books a lot but I'll have to read some of the other series, like the Baseball Card or Million Dollar books to see if I'm a DG fan or a My Weird School fan.

Which means I'm going to need YOUR help! I want to read one of the books in the My Weirder School series. But which one should I get?? There are a lot of them out there--which one should it be?? I'll wait until I hear from you and the one that gets the most recommendations is the one I'll read. So write a title in the Comments section under this post and let me know!!

And one more thing. I'd like to get on my Fourth of July soapbox for a moment. Without getting all political, I'd like to remind you that we live in a country in which we're free to read. That's not true in many places of the world. Here we can go to the library, bookstore, online book site and select whatever we'd like and read it without having to worry about who's going to break down our door for having that book. As I said, that's not the case everywhere. So, while you're having fun on the Fourth, remember to celebrate your independence!

 HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

No, You Can't Get Enough Knucklehead, Scary, Gross and Enlightening, and Michael's Second Shot

Yes, guys, Master Jedi Zack's absolutely right--Knucklehead is one of the funniest books you'll ever read. I can't wait for the audiobook version! And thanks for mentioning my reviews, Zack! Don't worry about almost calling me CAROL. Since we're all MANLY MEN here, no one would ever mistake me for a girl--unless they saw the video of me as Miss Carlotta.

I've just added a new link to our list of links and it's a good one. It's Scary, Gross and Enlightening by author and librarian Deborah Ford. I mean, how could you not go to a site with a name like that?? This site has lots of good info for boys and their parents and teachers. And librarians. Especially guybrarians, to use Master Jedi Zack's term. Ms. Ford also made a terrific list of books for boys on her blog. Take a look.

Finally, Michael has given us another Slam Dunk:

Qwerty Stevens, book 1
Qwerty Stevens Back in Time with Thomas Edison
by Dan Gutman
Qwerty Stevens is mad. And when he's mad, he digs. Only this time he finds a very unusual machine that just happens to be Thomas Edison's 1,094th invention. After it takes him to France, and he has his sister, Barbara, bring him back to his house, he figures out that it's not just a teleportation machine, it's also a time machine. It takes him and Barbara back in time to meet Thomas Edison. But there is someone from the present who knows about the machine and would like it for his own evil purposes. This book is fun, adventurous, and educational. Be sure to check out the 2nd Qwerty Stevens book: Qwerty Stevens Stuck in Time with Benjamin Franklin.

Thanks, Michael! You now have the lead with 5 points! I read the second Qwerty Stevens book and really enjoyed it. (read my review here) I mean REALLY enjoyed it becuase it was fun, adventurous, and it didn't hurt being educational as well. Check it out, guys, and send in some more Slam Dunks!

Carl

Meeting the Man Behind Droon (and I didn't have to go under any stairs!)

Hey, everyone, I had a real treat tonight. I got to meet Tony Abbot, author of the Secrets of Droon books. He's a very friendly guy. I told him about the blog and maybe he'll write to us! He'll be here at our WordPlay Saturday event, along with Jeff Smith, creator of the Bone graphic novels, and several others. Click here to find out about WordPlay Saturday (there will be a lot of fun stuff) and click here to see which authors will be there.

I'll fill you in on a couple of books that I like a whole, whole lot. One is Qwerty Stevens Stuck In Time With Benjamin Franklin by Dan Gutman. What if you had a report on the American Revolution due in less than a hour? What if, instead of typing on a computer, you'd sat down to your genius friend's Anytime, Anywhere Machine, which could bring back people from any time in history? And what if you accidentally brought back Benjamin Franklin? And took him to school with you? It gets better--what if some loser guy found out about the Anytime Anywhere Machine and sent himself back into time to make himself King of America? Could you stop him? Could even Benjamin Franklin stop him? You'll find out if you read this funny and exciting book!

The other is another great true story. It's Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe by Robert Kraske. You've heard of Robinson Crusoe, right? The original Survivor? Stranded on a desert island by himself for years? Well, it turns out that the story really happened to a Scottish sailor named Alexander Selkirk. He was left alone on Juan Fernandez Island (360 miles west of South America) for four years! Incredible! But he had even more adventures after that! This is a short book but one that will hold your attention through every page. More proof that History Is Not Boring!

Well, that's my contribution for tonight. Bill is working on a really great post that should be up soon. Hope to see you at WordPlay Saturday!
And don't forget my challenge!
Carl