#IMWAYR ... Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.






New Read Finished this Week


And guess what? I get to give one away! And it will come with some fun colored band-aids!

THE CONTAGIOUS COLORS OF MUMPLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL

By Fowler DeWitt

In Stores September 3, 2013

For ages 7 and up

About the book

If there’s one important thing Wilmer Dooley’s dad always says, it’s this: “Where are my car keys?”

Okay, maybe not that. He also says: “Observe!”

Wilmer has always known that the greatest science comes from the keenest observations. So when he observes his classmates looking a little green…and orange...and chartreuse-fuchsia polka-dotted...he knows that it’s up to him to find the cause of this mysterious illness—and the cure.

But with his arch nemesis, Claudius Dill, hot on his heels; the eagle-eyed biology teacher, Mrs. Padgett, determined to thwart his plans; and a host of fluorescent classmates bouncing off the walls at increasingly dangerous speeds, can Wilmer prove he has what it takes to save the sixth grade from a colorful demise before it’s too late?

My thoughts? When I wasn't grossed out by talk of glowing snot (kids will like that ... I did not, but then again I am not the target audience ;)) it made me laugh.

Wilmer is a funny kid. He's infatuated with a girl named Roxie. He desperately wants her to notice him but his nerves often get the best of him and he says nerdy things. Can't we all relate?


I loved the illustrations! And the change in font when it's Wilmer's scientific journal records.
One of my favorite lines in the book is where Wilmer says "You can experiment so much that you never get things done. Sometimes you just need to rush to trial. Sometimes you need to take a risk and see what happens, whether it's [SPOILER] or wearing your heart on your sleeve." (You can probably guess what goes in there but I can't give it away here in a blog post! Read it!)


I could have done without the discussions of snot. And ... really, not one of the adults in the story is useful. They're all pretty lame ... bumbling along either completely clueless or downright mean. Luckily the student characters are enough fun to go a long way in making up for the adults.


It's a way out there fantasy story. I would say the target audience would be fourth through sixth grade. Older than sixth grade and the story would seem juvenile and beyond belief. Strong third grade readers might enjoy it. There's enough talk of romance and science that they'd need to be beyond Junie B or the Magic Treehouse ... but not so much the strong third grade reader wouldn't have fun with it and still relate.

Want to win this one? Comment below with ... oh, we'll make this one easy. Comment with your name and your favorite color or pattern ... the color or pattern you hope YOU'D turn if you got the Mumpley Malady! Make sure your email is included or that it's visible on your blogger profile. US entries only. If I was entering I'd say I would probably be plaid or argyle. Shades of blue, brown, and green. I must admit not a zebra or leopard print bone in my body. Some of you are more wild than me!


My Next Reads
Probably The Jedi Academy and The Real Boy. Have the e-arcs and want to finish them before they time out! I let so many books time out. Didn't get much done on the house this weekend so won't get as much read as maybe I might want. But The Dream Thieves and The Boy on the Bridge look so good! Hopefully I will get to them. If not in e-arc then later in hard copy!

And the Rose giveaway winner!
There were nineteen comments but only ten of them were entries for Rose. Maybe that was confusing combining the giveaway with a Currently post. Lots more people saw it, though. Anyway. Random.org picks ...

Swersty ... that's you! I'd say email me your address but hey ... we are close enough we maybe could meet up. Too hot still for anything but a big ol' Sonic cherry limeade! We'll compare schedules. Otherwise I'll mail it to you!