Cody Harmon, King of Pets

April 1, 2016
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody--whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals--discovers his time to shine. As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural--no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: "He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn't see." Readers will be kept entertained by Cody's various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus--"a dog who ate homework--actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward"--struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend's apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school's racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens? Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 1-4-A new addition to the series, this installment centers on Cody, a third-grade lover of pets and animals. Cody, who lives on a farm with his mom, dad, and nine-month-old twin sisters, struggles with schoolwork. He is writing a report on pigs-he has an adored pet pig named Mr. Piggins-but would much rather play than do homework. As in the other titles, the principal, Mr. Boone, interrupts the class, this time announcing a pet contest to raise money for the Humane Society. Cody wants to bring all nine of his pets (including Mr. Piggins, a rooster, and three chickens) but doesn't have the $10 entry fee for each pet to participate. Dad offers to pay him extra allowance if he works harder on rewriting his pig report, but that won't be quite enough to cover the full cost. Classmate Tobit wants to borrow Rex, Cody's golden retriever, but after observing Tobit being mean to another animal, Cody is not convinced his friend is sensitive enough to care for the dog. Mr. Boone helps the boys resolve their differences, and all ends well. There is good character development, as well as lots of plot to keep newly independent readers engaged. VERDICT Another good entry in this realistic fiction series perfect for young readers who have exhausted all of the "Clementine" (Hyperion) and "Ivy and Bean" (Chronicle) books.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

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