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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Kid Konnection: The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
Scholastic Canada
ISBN: 978-1443119368
Published Sept 1, 2012
Softcover, 256 pages

Shortly after handing this book to my son, I heard him giggling with glee. He then came up to me and shared what he thought was so funny. This went on throughout most of my son's reading of this book, which delighted me because my son doesn't read too much fiction as he'd rather be reading a book filled with facts on turtles, frogs, lizards, geckos or whatever other creature he fancies that week.

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate in its genre--a kid's wacky journal full of personal and comic stories. It's definitely a book that appeals to reluctant readers. Tom is a fifth grader who loves to draw, skip out on homework, tease his older sister and play his guitar with his friend. The book is filled with his doodles, scribbles and drawings that weave between the text, making reading this book very easy and fun.

This is a funny book filled with silly boy humour. Although Tom is in fifth grade, he could easily have been in third, judging by his actions (he comes across as much younger) and simpleness of the storyline. My son who is in third grade was able to relate to him. No way would my daughter who even in fifth grade was well beyond her years. So even though it's marketed for kids 9-12, I think it more appropriate for kids 7-10 years of age.

We found Tom's glossary of English words at the end of the book useful since this book is written by a British author. My son thought it funny that a jumper is a sweater and that a loo roll is toilet paper. Of course, he would! My son had a lot of fun with this book. Recommended for the reluctant boy readers in your life.

Note: This book is rated C = clean read.

Reviewed by Laura and Son

Disclosure: Thanks to Nikole Kritikos from Scholastic Canada for sending us this book for review. We were not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

Every Saturday, Booking Mama hosts a feature called Kid Konnection—a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, visit Booking Mama.

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