Knuckle & Potty Destroy Happy World

Book: Knuckle & Potty Destroy Happy World

Author/Illustrator: James Proimos

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Pages: 80

Grade Level: 3rd Grade and up

Rating: 5 Stars

Knuckle and Potty are tired of being cute and lovable book characters. They decide to take control of their personalities by attacking the author and illustrator of the books they are featured in. When that does not go as smoothly as expected, with the help of some friends they devise one more plan to ruin Happy World, the world created for them and taint their reputations forever!

These characters are amazing and the premise is so creative that everyone who reads this will be rooting for Knuckle and Potty! The book is written in both paragraph and comic form which makes it a quick read and is a great suggestion for reluctant readers. Upper elementary school students will understand the humor easily. This book is ideal for book talks and is definitely a must have for graphic novel collections everywhere!

Alice On Board

Book: Alice on Board

Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Publisher: Atheneum Books For Young Readers

Pages: 288

Grade Level: 8th Grade and Up

Rating: 2 Stars

This is the 27th book in the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.  Alice and her friends are hired to work on a cruise ship and have one final big adventure the summer before they go their separate ways and start college. The girls have to learn to weather many a storm and keep it together under stressful conditions – so much for smooth sailing!

This was my first encounter with Alice McKinley and I found her to be extremely boring. I was more interested in many of the references to previous books and situations than the summer working on the cruise (which had potential to be extremely adventurous!) After 26 books full of girl drama, teen pregnancy, death, marriage and more, it must have been time for Alice and her friends to have the most lackluster voyage four friends could have on a cruise ship. This book was excellently written, but I would definitely recommend choosing a different Alice book if you want to start this series.