Not For Sale

March 1, 2015
Cyrus and Rudy, 9 and 8 respectively, are faced with the nightmare scenario: their family is moving to a new house.The brothers are best friends who enjoy amusing themselves with potato-gun battles and Legos and sitting up high on closet shelves and windowsills. Rudy is prone to panic attacks. Cyrus, the book's insightful narrator, seems a calmer sort until he learns of the pending move. He's lived in that house since he was adopted at the age of 2 months. Moving is just too scary. So he hatches an age-appropriate plot: get up in the middle of the night and remove the "For Sale" sign-and the one that replaces it-and the several that replace that one. From the intriguing opening sentence ("Ancient potatoes lurk in our bedroom closets") to the feel-good conclusion, this very brief effort appealingly captures a small slice of very funny family life. In between are tolerant, loving parents, an admirable relationship between brothers, a bizarre but humorous cat, numerous rib-tickling, full-page illustrations, and some quirky problem-solving. Perhaps the only downside is that young readers are going to be trying to figure out how to build potato-guns-they look like water pistols but shoot spud chunks-of their own. A warmhearted romp that might even work for older reluctant readers. (Fiction. 6-10)

May 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-Cyrus is heartbroken when he learns that his family can no longer afford their current living arrangements and must move from his childhood home. He devises an earnest, though flawed, plan to thwart potential buyers. A few plot strands, such as the fact that Cyrus is adopted or that a new boy has the same nickname as his younger brother, offer little development to the story line, but the brothers' diverse personalities add an interesting slant. Expressive cartoon characters in black-and-white sketches accentuate the hope and love found in a caring family. Exaggerated facial expressions, including those of the family cat named Wigglechin, offer a humorous perspective. The cat's high-spirited antics, such as hangingupside down from outside the kitchen window or perching precariously from the For Sale sign in the front yard, also help to keep the tone light. VERDICT Short chapters and punchy characters make this selection a natural choice for readers moving to longer chapter books.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Grades 2-4 Cyrus, age nine, and Rudy, age eight, are a pair of happy-go-lucky brothers in a loving, if chaotic, household that encourages epic potato-gun fights and LEGO-building extravaganzas. The boys are living the good life with their mom and eagerly anticipating visits from their dad, who works in a logging camp, when their mom drops the bomb: the family is going to downsize into a smaller house. Cyrus is terrified; this is the only home he has lived in since being adopted at age two, and he is not sure he will still belong in a different house. He hatches a plan to keep the dreaded move from happeningno one can buy the house if it doesn't have a for sale sign, right? Winsome black-and-white illustrations succeed in evoking the playfulness of young narrator Cyrus, whose struggle with the upheaval in his universe is handled with humor and real feeling. Cheerful and full of insight, the latest entry in the Orca Echoes series for reluctant readers is a real winner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)