11/10/2014
Could a Heffley family vacation ever be anything but a series of escalating tribulations that would test Job's resolve? In this ninth Diary of a Wimpy Kid outing, Kinney detours from the more episodic nature of the earlier books to trace the family's doomed-from-the-start road trip, spurred by Greg's mother's subscription to Family Frolic ("There must be something wrong with our family," Greg muses, "because we can never measure up to the ones in the magazine"). Kinney maintains his knack for getting the details of family life just right (naturally, the only available lounge chair at a wildly overcrowded waterpark is the one with several broken straps). But between the inadvertent acquisition of a pet pig, an attack by a flock of seagulls, Greg getting medical attention at the vet, and baby brother Manny managing to knock the parked family car into drive, there's more out-and-out absurdity in this installment than in previous books. Readers won't care, though, and their own family vacations will look downright blissful by comparison. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sylvie Rabineau, RWSG Literary Agency. (Nov.)
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. […]