Time Warp Trio

I've been reading lots of books with tremendous boy appeal lately. Admittedly, I'm doing a bit of research for a bibliography I'm trying to put together targeted at this demographic. Often when people think of "boy books," they think of something with lots of action and/or an overabundance of gross/toilet humor. Neither of these traits is ever a bad thing though, and there are plenty of books out there that use these attention-grabbing themes is amazingly clever ways. Take, for example, today's featured series: The Time Warp Trio.

In the series' first book The Knights of the Kitchen Table, Joe receives a birthday gift from his magician uncle. It's a mysterious book with ornate writing. Before he quite realizes what's happening, Joe manages to use the book to transport himself and his friends Sam and Fred back in time to King Arthur's court. How will the three boys get home? More importantly, how will they manage to defeat the dragon and the giant who have besieged the castle?

The series continues to document Joe, Sam, and Fred's adventures through time. The formula is actually kind of similar to the beloved Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, but funnier, wackier, and just a little bit edgier. The books are super quick and painless to read, making them great for relatively new readers or older reluctant readers alike.

Overall Grade: A

Cosmic

Holy cow, I've been away for too long. Many apologies - life got crazy.

Fortunately, that means that I've had some time to read! I've got a backlogged list of books that I'd like to share, starting with Frank Cottrell Boyce's latest book, Cosmic.

Liam is a boy trapped in a man's body. At the age of twelve, he goes through a series of growth spurts and is regularly mistaken for an adult. Sometimes this is great, such as the time when he was the only kid tall enough to go on the Cosmic theme park ride, or the time when he was mistaken for a teacher at school. But sometimes Liam just wants to be treated like a normal kid instead of having everyone expect him to act like an adult just because he looks like one. But Liam decides to use his adult appearance to his advantage when he wins a contest for the world's greatest dads, convincing schoolmate Florida to pose as his daughter. The prize? A chance to go on the greatest thrill ride ever: A trip into outer space. What could possibly go wrong?

I liked this book well enough when I read it, but it's really grown on me over time. At first I just didn't quite buy the fact that Liam could carry on this deception for so long (someone would eventually catch on...right?), but I now appreciate this gimmick as an artful way of making commentary on the nature of childhood and adulthood. Because that's really what this book is about: Age and expectations. What does it really mean to be an adult or a parent? Is it really just about filling out boring forms and making your kids do things they don't want to do? What does it mean to be a child? Isn't adulthood wasted on adults, who don't seem to understand why it's important to visit all of the Waterloos the world over? Adults will appreciate Liam's awkward transition into "adulthood" (I know I saw a bit of myself in it) and kids will enjoy Liam's crazy adventures, both on Earth and in space. Everyone will love this book for its interesting characters.

Besides, it's a space adventure. What's not to love?

Overall Grade: A