2014-11-06
You'd think that if anyone would know better, it would be Greg Heffley's mother.But no. When she reads an article in Family Frolic magazine about wholesome family road trips, she insists on taking one right now. What ensues is the kind of totally over-the-top mayhem that the Wimpy Kid's fans have come to expect—and more. The family packs too much stuff to fit into the car, so they decide to tow Dad's utterly unseaworthy boat as extra cargo space. Mom insists on educational enrichment (learn-to-speak-Spanish CDs, lame-o car games), "real food" (brown-bag "Mommy Meals" instead of fast food) and "authentic" fun (a country fair with no rides but a guess-the-pig's-weight contest in which the prize is the pig; baby Manny wins). They spend the night in the absolute quintessence of a cruddy motel. Two slapstick driving sequences are both Hollywood-ready and extremely funny, especially in Kinney's accompanying cartoons; Greg's free-associative riff on humorless do-gooders who seek to censor such potty-humor classics as a wink-and-a-nod-disguised Captain Underpants will find an appreciative audience. By taking the Heffleys on the road, Kinney both gives himself an almost universally familiar experience to lampoon and places Greg in the rather unusual position of being almost entirely justified in his misanthropy, which is downright refreshing. Every kid—and every parent—who's ever suffered through a family road trip will feel as one with Greg. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)
This month’s top picks for kids include something for every type of reader, from fans of Minecraft and Captain Underpants buffs to pranksters and diary keepers. These are the reads that will have young bookworms everywhere turning pages long past bedtime.
If your favorite young reader is a budding diarist, a doodler, or just a kid who’s newly making the switch to chapter books, these wonderful reads are the perfect gateway: they’re funny, accessible tales of adventure, mystery, and silliness, filled with drawings that will make kids giggle, and clever storytelling that will keep them turning the pages. […]
Jeff Kinney’s done it yet again, in uproarious style, with his ninth installment in the Wimpy Kid series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. Replete with Kinney’s dry-as-toast humor and laugh-out-loud-funny illustrations, The Long Haul chronicles the Heffleys’ doomed summer vacation, in which Greg, Rodrick, Dad, and Manny are subjected to Mom Heffley’s […]
Some older children love a good read; some enjoy ripping the paper off an exciting toy during the holidays; others love books and toys equally. Here are our picks for the “big kid” in your life.
Who doesn’t remember the childhood thrill of devouring book after book in a beloved series? The best thing about gifting eBooks to the little readers on your list is that when they’re done, the next one is just a few clicks away. NOOK Books make great instant gifts for kids—not always known for their patience. […]