Matt Sprouts and the Day Nora Ate the Sun

by Matthew Eicheldinger

Overview

Matt Sprouts is back for another hilarious adventure! It’s been a few months since Matt defeated “the Curse,” and if you thought that was bad, get ready to meet Matt’s latest challenge—Nora the goat. Have you ever babysat a goat before? Trust us, you do NOT want to do it. Join Matt, his little brother Elliott, his girlfriend Grace, his best friend Eric, and a mysterious kid who lives in the forest in the HILARIOUS sequel to the bestselling book, Matt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken Toes!

After defeating “the Curse,” twelve-year-old Matt just wants to relax. But Dad has another idea—Matt needs to “build some character,” whatever THAT means. So Matt ends up a pet sitting for his neighbor, Farmer Jed. Easy enough, right?
 
Wrong.
 
In fact, it’s downright baaaaaaad.
 
The “pet” in question is Nora, an old goat with glassy eyes and short tail. Farmer Jed says she’s “special.” Matt’s pretty sure, however, that the most impressive thing about Nora is how far her eyes can roll into the back of her head.

While trying to keep track of Nora and all her mysterious actions, Matt is also helping his girlfriend Grace with her Science Fair project, attending both soccer and Cross-Country practice, and, oh yeah, trying to avoid some scary guy named Jason who seemingly wants to enact perilous revenge on young Matt. More on that guy later.
 
So much for "time to relax"!

"Funny, heartwarming, and impossible to put down, [The Curse of the 10 Broken Toes] is a must-read for anyone trying to survive the perils of middle school." – Dustin Brady, bestselling author of Trapped in a Video Game and other series.

"Matt Sprouts is the next star of middle-grade comedy! Matt Eicheldinger expertly draws from his life to create this heart-warming and fun illustrated series." – Jarrett Krososzka, New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award Finalist 

"This is the kind of book that makes a kid stay up past their bedtime, reading with a flashlight under the blanket.” – Nina Hamza, bestselling author of Ahmed Azis's Epic Year 

"This humorously captivating tale perfectly captures both the excitement and listlessness of a middle school summer." - Terrance Crawford, bestselling author of the Piggy series

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524888718
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	09/03/2024
Series:	Matt Sprouts , #2
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	29,707
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Matt Eicheldinger wasn't always a writer. He spent most of his childhood playing soccer, reading comics, and trying his best to stay out of trouble. Little did he know those moments would ultimately help craft the first book in his debut novel series, Matt Sprouts and the Curse of Ten Broken Toes. Matt lives in Bloomington, Minnesota with his wife and two children, and tries to create new adventures with them whenever possible. When he's not writing, you can find him telling students stories in the classroom or trail running along the Minnesota River Bottoms.

Editorial Reviews

2024-07-04
An unusually perspicacious goat helps a Colorado seventh grader build character in this tumultuous summer fling.

As inMatt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken Toes (2024), Eicheldinger embeds insistent messages about the importance of kindness and empathy into a contrived (if generally entertaining) ruckus. Looking for a summer job that isn’t labor-intensive but mindful of his dad’s requirement that it should “build character,” Matt agrees to tend Nora, a neighboring farmer’s googly-eyed goat, for eight days. After first discovering that Nora will eat anything from shoes to his girlfriend Grace’s science project and can escape any pen, even one secured with a combination lock, he goes on to learn—from interactions with the oddly reticent new kid, Bobby Joe—the truth of his mother’s repeated observation that the best way to understand others is to learn what’s in their (metaphorical) backpack. Led by Nora, who turns out to be a good listener as well as comic relief, a lively cast buoys the tale and proves bighearted enough to show general willingness to make and accept apologies. As a result, all conflicts arising due to mishaps and misunderstandings are dispelled in the end. The human cast is largely cued as white in both narrative and occasional humorous cartoon line drawings.

Lesson heavy but leavened with humor and humanity.(Fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews