Skateboard Sonar

May 1, 2010
Gr 3-5-While the content and design will make these titles hard to resist, the stories themselves don't stand out. In "Paintball", opposite-in-personality identical twins Peter and Noah are pitted against one another to make the team. Their competition-obsessed father encourages his sons to battle it out. When the tryout begins, the brothers quickly realize that they'd much rather work together. In "Skateboard Sonar", Matty is blind but an excellent skateboarder nonetheless, with the confidence to match. When he and his friend Ty enter the local skating competition, Matty is bullied for his disability. This conflict reaches its climax at the competition, where the protagonist beats his tormentors. In both books, the dialogue comes across as inauthentic at times. Designed as though readers were watching sports on television, the books begin with ESPN-like graphics introducing the characters, depicted in stylized, manga-inspired artwork. There's even a "ticker" across the bottom, foreshadowing the story to come. Sure to fly off shelves, but more for style than for memorable storytelling."Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI"

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