Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball

(I now maintain a blog just for my kid-lit reviews. Find it at http://kidlit4adults.blogspot.com .)

A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year for the first time at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process among other ways by first reading a stack of popular books that have been recommended to me. Today's titles are from yet another of these series of endless chapter-books designed for grade-schoolers, in this case all of them co-penned by a duo of friends who used to be grade-school teachers themselves; this is one of the types of employment I myself am hoping to find in the industry, to kick out such easy-reading 30,000-word titles once a month or show more so, which is why I'm reading so many of them these days. Now, admittedly, this particular series is based on a high-concept that I find tough to imagine lasting for as long as it has; basically, each title features yet another new adult in the lives of our middle-class child heroes who may or may not be a mythological creature, exhibiting strange traits throughout the story but never just coming out and saying whether they're a mummy or vampire or whatever. (And in fact there are almost 75 books in this series now, nearly all of them featuring a different mythological creature, which just on its own is pretty impressive.) These are very much for the younger end of the chapter-book crowd, in my opinion from ages 7 to about 9 or 10, featuring lots of illustrations and a ton of silly humor; and to their credit Dadey and Jones are much more interested in simply being entertaining than in trying to teach a moral lesson, usually a common trait among books for this age group. They're nothing special, but certainly readable and fun, and come recommended for younger readers looking for their first dose of genre excitement but wanting to avoid dark material altogether. show less

ISBN 0590448226 – I really, really wanted to like this book, if only because the BSK series is popular with kids and anything that makes them want to read has to be worth looking into. Unfortunately, it’s not that good.

It’s St Patrick’s Day in Bailey City and Eddie is enjoying pinching everyone not wearing green. He also enjoys tripping people and otherwise getting up to mischief, even in Mrs. Jeepers’ class. Mrs. Jeeper is from Transylvania and if that doesn’t make her unusual enough, she’s got a burning, irrational-seeming hatred of leprechauns. When time for gym class rolls around, the kids meet a visitor from Ireland, Mr. O’Grady, who’s going to teach them Irish dances. The kids quickly become suspicious of the show more little man, certain he’s a leprechaun. Of course, they’re also certain that Mrs. Jeepers is a vampire, so they must just be crazy… right? Wrong!

The story is fun and lighthearted, despite the looming possibility of a leprechaun-vampire war in the hallway. The book, however, is really too short to be more than slightly amusing. By the time the tale picks up, it’s already heading into the big finale which was itself a bit of a letdown. I give it three stars, consider it average, but end with a high note: I’ll be reading more BSK books whenever they come my way – they’re not bad, it’s just this one isn’t all that great. RL3, ages 7-10.

- AnnaLovesBooks show less

A silly series that creates more questions than it answers. It's great for formulating theories as well as predictions. The class dynamics should be very familiar to those of the Magic School Bus generation.

Simple acts of kindness are the first steps to changing the world. This collection of original poems celebrates the joys of bridging the invisible boundaries among people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Not my favorite, but fun since both Mike and I remember reading them as kids.

Melody is certain that her new basketball coach, Mr. O'Grady, is a leprechaun, and soon she and the other children are keeping an eye on him.

Adventure