* From the catalog:
Quirky fourth-grader Oggie Cooder goes from being shunned to everyone's best friend when his uncanny ability to chew slices of cheese into the shapes of states wins him a slot on a popular television talent show, but he soon learns the perils of being a celebrity--and having a neighbor girl as his manager.

Oggie Cooder is happy with his life, loves his dog Turk (Turkey Sandwhich, named for his favorite), likes his parents who run a used clothing store, crochets his own shoelaces and happily charves slices of processed American cheese into the shape of states. He is blissfully unaware that he is uncool, a dork, a dweeb, or a doofus to his classmates, although longs to join the boys in basketball. The story opens when Oggie receives the unfortunate news that he has lost a competition to create a name for the latest bagel creation by the Bakestuff Company. Although he doesn't long for fame, his neighbor, Donnica Perfecto will do just about anything to become famous and move to Hollywood. Somehow, these two end up working together, and who knows if either becomes famous in the end?

This is a funny book, with such creative characters and a great story that tells a lesson without becoming to preachy. I had the great opportunity to hear Sarah Weeks, Avi, Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick do this as a Readers Theater production at the American Library Association's 2009 conference. Brian Selznick was hysterical as Oggie, adding his own brand of charm to Oggie's "prrrrr-ip, prrrrr-ip"s, and "frappachino"s. A great addition to any elementary library! ( )

My students loved the book as a read aloud. Very cute!

Oggie Cooder's teachers describe him as "unusual" and "one-of-a-kind'. Oggie considers this a compliment. The other kids at his school consider Oggie to be just plain weird. He's always wearing a strange mix of clothes from his parents' secondhand shop. His dog's name is Turk (short for Turkey-on-Rye, Oggie's favorite sandwich). And perhaps strangest of all is Oggie's hidden talent, charving. (That's chewing + carving.) Oggie is an expert at charving cheese into the shapes of the states of America.

His hidden talent might have gone unnoticed if not for Oggie's snobby neighbor Donnica Perfecto. She's determined to be a star and when she sees an ad for auditions for the major TV show Hidden Talents, Donnica jumps at the chance to show everybody up. She knows who's got the most hidden talent of all (Oggie) and she'll stop at nothing until he helps her win a spot on the show. But things don't turn out quite as Donnica plans...

A funny chapter book for younger middle-grade readers, Oggie Cooder has its fair share of silliness, but a solid story underneath. It looks like we may see more of Oggie and I think that would be a wonderful thing. ( )

Quirky fourth-grader Oggie Cooder goes from being shunned to everyone's best friend when his uncanny ability to chew slices of cheese into the shapes of states wins him a slot on a popular television talent show, but he soon learns the perils of being a celebrity--and having a neighbor girl as his manager ( )