Stuff a stocking with Capt. Underpants
S tocking up on books as stocking stuffers or Hanukkah gifts? If so, your middle-grade readers — even the reluctant ones — are bound to enjoy these:
The Third Wheel, by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books, 217 pages, $16.95), is Book 7 in the highly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Far from highbrow literature, the series features comedic snippets of text heavily illustrated with black-and-white cartoonish images, all depicting the life of a middle-school kid, Greg Heffley. This time around, Greg gives us journal entries detailing his foray into school politics (largely by getting his friend Rowley Jefferson elected as social chairperson), his attempts to get a date for the Valentine’s Day dance, and the role chickenpox plays in those events. For age 8 and up.
Fans of the Captain Underpants series will be happy to know that “the Ninth Epic Novel” by Dav Pilkey — Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy
Tinkletrousers (Scholastic, 304 pages, $19.99) — is available in a bookstore near you. Having not read the eight epic novels that preceded it, this was my first exposure to the phenomenon that has captured the attention of so many reluctant readers (boys especially) since 1997, when Pilkey first introduced the hero in tighty whities to the world. While I occasionally found my mind wandering while following the adventures of George and Harold as they travel back to kindergarten days, I can appreciate the appeal of these books for ages 7 to 12. Volume 10 is due for release in January.
Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder: Who Cut the
Cheese?, by Jo Nesbø (Aladdin, 458 pages, $7.99), is a much better read than the title might suggest. Written by a Norwegian author best known for his adult detective novels, this is the most recent title in his first series for children. (Translated into English by Tara Chace, it includes two earlier volumes.) Central characters Nilly and Lisa solve the mystery of the moon chameleons, alien creatures lurking in Oslo’s sewer system who are determined to end the world by eating Earth’s inhabitants. Clearly, Nesbø knows how to create cliffhangers, but he’s also adept at humour and satire, using the Norovision Choral Throwdown (think Norway’s equivalent of American Idol) as a crucial plot element. For ages 8 to 12. Meet at the Ark at Eight, by Ulrich Hub (Eerdmans, 66 pages, $12), is also aimed at ages 8 to 12, although I’m inclined to think it would make a great stocking stuffer for much older readers as well. Originally published in German and translated by Helena Ragg-Kirkby, this is a droll, occasionally irreverent retelling of the Noah’s Ark story, focusing on a couple of penguins determined to smuggle a third member of their species on board the ark instead of letting him drown. With black-and-white illustrations by Jörg Mühle.