Synopses & Reviews
From the author of Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading comes a humorous and illustrated new series about a boy whose new dog may or may not be a crimefighting vampire.
Jimmy Bishop loves doing 3 things:
1) Laughing at funny dog videos online,
2) watching his favorite show (Stop! Police!) on TV,
3) and reading his favorite vampire book (Fang Goodness) over and over.
His self-involved older sister and workaholic Mom think he needs to stop obsessing already! But when his Dad finally allows Jimmy to get a puppy before school starts, everything changes and Jimmy has something new to focus on: his amazing dog, Abby who seems to have some very unusual habits. She sleeps all day but is wired at night, and she runs from the garlic kelp biscuit made by Jimmy's strange new babysitter Mrs. Cragg. There's just something different about Abby. Could she possibly be...a vampire? Jimmy's best friend Irwin thinks Jimmy's being ridiculous, but then when Abby uncovers a real crime in progress and helps him become friends with an actual, human girl, even Irwin has to admit that perhaps Abby might have some super powers after all.
Review
Praise for Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading:*"Hilarious . . . This debut is filled with passages that beg to be shared . . . With its subversive humor and contemporary details drawn straight from kids' worlds, this clever title should attract a wide following." -- Booklist, starred review
"This is a fun, fast-moving look at middle-school life through the eyes of a kid who would rather clean his room than pick up a book. Reluctant readers will be pleased." -- School Library Journal
"Charlie Joe's insider knowledge of the inner machinations of middle-school cliques will make younger readers smile in anticipation, and his direct address to readers makes make him feel like an older buddy showing the way. . . Slackers everywhere have a new, likable hero in Charlie Joe Jackson." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A delightful choice for reluctant readers . . . Tommy Greenwald's writing style is breezy and accessible without being too easy. It is also extremely funny and hard to put down. If the book's cover showed something blowing up, every reluctant boy reader in middle school would be proud to carry it around while secretly enjoying the nonviolent, straightforward story. Bookworms won't care; they'll love it either way." -- BookPage
"Kids who do peruse the book will enjoy Charlie Joe's chuckleworthy tips on keeping reading at bay, even if they take exception to his list of helpful oxymorons: 1. good book, 2. happy reader, 3. important author, 4. nice library, 5. favorite bookstore." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Greenwald pulls off a clever bit of reverse psychology in his debut, first in a series starring a cheeky middle grader who goes to great lengths to avoid reading--and whose humor and rapid-fire delivery should draw in like-minded kids." -- Publishers Weekly
"In author Tommy Greenwald's raucous debut . . . this comedy of comeuppance shows its true colors, and, irony of ironies, is impossible to put down!" -- Disney's Family Fun
"A perfect book for the non-reader or reluctant reader in your life. . . . Laugh-out-loud funny, clever, and relevant, I believe Tommy Greenwald has written a book that will appeal to kids of all reading tastes." -- ReadKiddoRead.com
About the Author
Tommy Greenwald is the author of the Charlie Joe Jackson series about the most reluctant reader ever born. Tommy lives in Connecticut with his wife, Cathy; his kids, Charlie, Joe and Jack; and his dogs, Coco and Abby. Abby is not necessarily a crimefighting vampire dog -- but she makes Tommy and his family very, very happy, which is definitely a kind of superpower when you think about it.