Germs!

June 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-Humorous illustrations and super-funny texts will keep readers' attention as Bertie makes choices that will elicit massive giggles. In Fangs, his classmates dress up like their favorite book characters, and Bertie discovers that his costume as a vampire is the same as the one worn by the school janitor. What is troubling to Bertie is he knows the janitor really is a vampire and he must prove it. In the next story, he is due for a haircut and decides to have a friend do it. Finally, Bertie disappears at the mall and ends up in a fashion show. His taste of the runway goes awry as he ends up plowing into the other models with his skateboard. In Germs!, three short stories unfold as Bertie tries to get out of going to school by catching his sister's chicken pox, discovers itching powder as he dances with his grandmother in a competition, and gets to have the babysitter every kid dreams about when Kevin's apathy toward babysitting results in a free-for-all for Bertie. Fans of Dav Pilkey, Lincoln Peirce, and Jeff Kinney will gravitate toward these short stories with strong boy appeal. Reluctant readers and children looking for beginning chapter books will find Bertie entertaining, grossness and all.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

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