Book Info:
|
A new series written and illustrated by the illustrator of the Fablehaven series, Brandon Dorman!
Meet the Hooligan brothers who are fun-loving, go-cart racing, up-for-anything boys, and they are expert pranksters! The school bully, Rock, picks on the boys, tries to out-prank them and especially tries to lay blame for his pranks on them. Enter a purple, blobby, friendly outer space alien. He's come to Earth to earn badges for his "extraterrestrial space scout" sash. The brothers name him Hoolie and quickly learn about his alien ways:
Hoolie gets smelly when he’s hungry and that's how the boys know it's time to feed him. He eats clothes, especially socks. Mom and Dad don’t know what is going on originally, but then later on, when they become more involved in the situation, they figure out why the family socks are disappearing from the Hooligan house.
He has a compartment in his belly, like Mary Poppins' carpetbag, that can somehow hold an endless supply of neat gizmos and gadgets.
The boys can't communicate with him at first and rig up an electronic device to help them read Hoolie's mind.
The Hooligan boys keep Hoolie a secret until he saves a neighborhood girl from a burning building, and the town befriends him. Then a team of mysterious strangers dressed in black who call themselves "Animal Control" arrive, but the Hooligan boys know this can't be true. The boys must resolve their problem with Rock, help Hoolie earn his merit badges on Earth, and help him find his way home before "Animal Control" captures him!
My Thoughts About This Book:
|
I have to say that this was the cutest book about an alien that I have read. This book is filled with things any kid would love like whimsy, puns, and pretty lame jokes. There are some laugh out moments and the brothers have quite interesting antics.
The book shares a glimpse into the life of the Hooligan brothers. The boys Henry, Hector, and Hank. The Hooligan boys are quite mischievous and often get themselves into quite a bit of trouble. The book starts out during their last week of summer. The brothers have encounters a interesting, albeit quite large purple alien. This alien loves to devour clothing. Which is something I have never read about in a middle grade novel, I believe kids will love this quirky detail.
The boys learn that perhaps this Alien really isn't that bad, after he saves a neighbor girl from a fire. They protect him from the authorities that are trying to capture him. I really thought their efforts to save him was cute. This part is really fast-paced and action packed.
I loved this book but I did noticed that there were several storylines that seem to never develop and kind of become tangents. I think there was just the ability for so many different ideas the the author got sort of wrapped up in them.
One thing that I did like that unlike most middle grade novels don't do was that he involved the parents from the very beginning. I also liked that the parents were wholesome and not at all bad or villain like. I feel like this is becoming a rarity in middle grade novels. I enjoyed the fact the boys felt loved, and like they had happy family.
Over all this is a great children's books. I would recommend this to parents and teachers with kids in the 2nd to 6th grades. I believe this would be a fun book for boys and girls alike.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All thoughts are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment