Funny high interest low vocabulary for reticent readers. ( )

A little boy who can magically transform into a super fast monkey. Wow. A bad guy who fakes being a museum guard and then a substitute teacher and steals a golden monkey from the museum. Action. Adventure. And a few comics in between the chapters when the boy turns into a monkey. Zowie! ( )

I thought this was a good book, for two main reasons. First, I thought that the characters were relatable. The dialogue and sibling relationships allow the reader to connect with Clyde and Claudia, causing the reader to become more engaged. For example, Claudia is always trying to keep her twin brother Clyde out of trouble. Sisters tend to have this motherly nature towards their siblings, and their relationship is definitely applicable to this. The dialogue used also helped portray their relationship. When Clyde and Claudia were walking to school at one point in the story, Claudia tells her brother to behave and Clyde responded: ““I’ll try,” I said. The bell rand and I dashed toward the school building. “Slow down, Clyde!” Claudia yelled. I was already racing up the steps. I ran down the hall, into my classroom, and…into Miss Plum!” This is just one instance of how the dialogue helps depict their relationship. I also liked how there were occasional illustrations that reinforced what was happening in the text. I thought this was appropriate for getting readers engaged in the book as well. Sometimes they were just illustrations, but there were times where the book turned into a comic book; the characters had word bubbles and for a few pages it read like a comic. I thought this was another neat aspect of the book. The plot was fast paced and this also kept my interest while reading this book. Clyde ate a radioactive banana during a trip to the museum and now he turns into a monkey whenever he gets excited. Claudia’s task of keeping Clyde out of trouble had become even more difficult! The big idea of this book is siblings are a very important part of our lives and we should cherish the time we have with them. ( )