Liz Pichon

Strictly speaking, this story was more fun than finding your FAVORITE shoes on sale in every color of the rainbow in EXACTLY your size!

There are characters you won't soon forget, plots that are so devious you'll question giving the benefit of the doubt to everyone, creativity that will boggle your mind, and so many laughs and guffaws to be had, you'll end up with a showbox size tummy ache by book's end. Ruby and Bear are a great duo and seriously have each other's backs. Their father was show more some adult readers could also relate to, as was Betty, because he cared about his family and friends so much, he was willing to put his dreams and aspirations to the side to provide for them. Even with the loss of their mother (most mysteriously!), he picked up the pieces of his heart's loss and provided a good life...despite wedge shaped black hole in it. Speaking of wedges (and I'm sorry, but I definitely don't find them comfortable!), Wendy Wedge was a seriously unexpectedly dastardly baddie, and TOE-tally deserves everything she has coming...the spoils of which I shall not reveal, but trust me when I say, you'll be in awe of how far the perceived mighty fall.

One thing, I found surprising, but refreshing all the same as that the author doesn't pull any punches! There are no mysterious happy endings, no escaping by the skin of their teeth moments, and no unbelievable outcomes to some truly cringe worthy situations. If they get into trouble, in trouble they stay until they work their way out of it. If they are being followed by Mr. Creeper, then they are being followed and most definitely aren't able to shrug him off their trail (though Shoo - the cat - seriously manages some astounding feats!). If they are trying to hide something they shouldn't know, do, or have, then like most secrets...it gets out. If they are suppose to be listening to their father and staying out of trouble, then they are probably getting into it like most kids will do. The point is...as FUNtastic and punny as the story is, it still feels REAL. Sure, every page is littered with shoe puns of every sort, from images to story, names to places, heck, even the chapters aren't chapters...they're SIZES...but everyone was written with such heart, that ultimately you have a great time, while still feeling like you're stepping into some mighty powerful shoes.


**copy received for review; opinions are my own show less

I was ill the other day and in need of a little of that TLC that I used to get from my mom when I was in grade school and home sick. So I decided to see if I could replicate a little of that TLC by wrapping up in my jammies and blankie, eating chicken noodle soup and crackers, and reading Tom Gates, Everything’s Amazing (Sort Of). And, you know … it worked! (Well, as much as it could without my actual mom and her Vicks VapoRub being present) When I read Tom Gates, I was transported back show more to the world of the grade school reader. That world where you felt so much joy while you were reading a book, when you felt like you were actually living within that book and with all of those characters.

Tom Gates is a UK series, and has been compared to the American Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which is high praise, indeed. It’s a sketch-book diary, where Tom’s doodles and drawings and handwritten fonts make the words and the stories come alive. Best of all is Tom’s character, which comes shining through in all of his adventures and mishaps (perhaps embellished a wee bit, Tom? LOL) – he’s got a exuberant, cheerful optimism that just can’t be beat.

I thought Tom Gates: Everything's Amazing (Sort Of) was funny, fun, creative, sweet, and absolutely delightful. I’d recommend it highly to any upper-grade schooler on your list … or those of you who, like me, sometimes long to be back in grade school themselves. show less

Tom loves to doodle in his notebook during school, play guitar in his band with his best mate, and dream up new ways to harass his teen-aged sister, Delia. This book contains his diary over one year of his (mis)adventures doing all of the above plus more.

I decided to pick up this book after reading a glowing review of it in a journal on international children's literature. The review compared it to Diary of a Wimpy Kid (a comparison that I usually find suspect though) and noted how it covers show more "everyday" type of kids' problems rather than the "big" problem novels (e.g., death of a loved one, childhood abuse, etc.).

Well, the comparison between this book and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is actually pretty spot on. The pen-and-ink drawings are similar (although I would argue there were a few too many here -- showing Tom's doodles for band logos = great use of this idea; including a pair of eyes every time Tom uses the phrases "looked at me" = unnecessarily excessive) as are the age range of the characters and the everyday family/school/friendship problems. This book has likewise spawned sequels. I could easily see a fan of the Wimpy Kid books becoming a fan of these.

While the book does concern itself mostly with small issues (like forgotten homework, having a schoolyard crush, hoping to get tickets for a concert featuring a favorite band), I find it a bit difficult to wholeheartedly recommend this book because there is zero growth in the main character. He never learns from his mistakes and continues to make the same ones over and over again. Tom also is cruel to a schoolmate for essentially no reason; it is tantamount to bullying. It would be ideal to give kids a slightly more positive role model than that. I'm not saying Tom needs to become a saint over night, but a couple of actual realizations and/or fixing of mistakes would be nice instead of him skating free once again by lucky chance.

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is from a British author and contains a number of British slang terms, which are then defined at the back of the book. I think this book is a fantastic (and easy) way to start getting kids to think globally in their reading choices and to see how while there may be small differences between cultures, there are certainly universal feelings and situations. show less

This was a cute, quick story about a mostly good kid who does some marginally bad things. What I liked - Tom Gates is cheerful, resilient, always looking on the bright side and coming up with new ways to solve his problems. What I didn't like - his picking on Marcus, the kid that he hates. I just didn't get it, no explanation as to why Marcus is such an "idiot," and it seemed to encourage picking on classmates as a good way to be funny. Had Marcus been portrayed as a horrible, mean kid, it show more might have been different, we all like to see the villains lose. I know it's just a story, I know everything in the world doesn't need to be taken so seriously, but I also think something that's meant to appeal to young boys maybe shouldn't make bullying (even "light" bullying, as I believe Tom's is) seem so casual and acceptable. show less