September 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-A rollicking, laugh-out-loud look at fourth grade through the eyes of two lifelong pals. The boys figure that this year, since they are the oldest kids at East Millcreek Elementary, they'll rule the school, but nothing seems to work out as planned. First, Raymond ends up having the creepiest teacher ever, then Graham accidentally shaves off his own eyebrow. After auditions for the school play, Raymond, who covets the role of Scrooge, gets a small part with a silly line about plum pudding. Faced with more ups and downsand one hilarious situation after anotherthe boys begin to wonder if fourth grade will turn out to be a total disaster. Narrated by Raymond, this story is filled with nonstop action and kid-friendly humor. Done in an exaggerated cartoon style, Curtis's occasional black-and-white illustrations perfectly suit the tone of the text. Fans of Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" series (Scholastic) or Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams, 2007) are in for big fun involving prunes, false teeth, misplaced first kisses, and two true-blue friends."Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA"
Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2009
Best buds Raymond and Graham are finally fourth graders. Ready to rule the school, they instead land in mean Mrs. Gibson's class. In [cf2]School[cf1], the boys are in a play, and in [cf2]Dudes[cf1], it's a dance performance. Told in bright, breezy, appropriately kidlike language, and with a good number of black-and-white cartoon illustrations, these stories offer the post-chapter book set enjoyable fare.
(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)