Masters of Disaster

by Gary Paulsen

Summary: Henry decides that he and friends Reed and Riley are the most boring twelve-year-olds on the planet.  To solve this problem, he creates a series of tasks guaranteed to turn them into Men of Action and Daring.  

Thoughts:  Masters of Disaster is hilarious!  Gary Paulsen, the Master of Storytelling, has created another delightful tale.  Likeable characters, wacky adventures, perfect wit and word choice .... all go together to create a book that is short in length, but big in fun.  I hated for the adventures to come to an end and hope we will hear more from Henry, Riley and Reed in a disasterous sequel!

Click here to read more about Gary Paulsen, his books, and his adventure-filled life.

Griff Carver, Safety Patrol
by Jim Krieg

Summary: Griff Carver believes in order, justice, and safe hallways.  Armed with a safety patrol badge and a keen ability for sniffing out tomfoolery, Griff is going to do whatever it takes to clean up Rampart Middle School.

Thoughts: Hilarious!  I loved the "hard-boiled detective" style of this mystery by first-time novelist Jim Krieg. It's a witty, clever book with snappy dialogue and humorous characters.  I hope we will see much more of no-nonsense safety patrol officer Carver in future novels as he continues to boldly take on the riff-raff of Rampart Middle School!