This book is downright hysterical. By hysterical I mean the funniest thing I’ve read since Dave Barry’s [b: The Worst Class Trip Ever|23197599|The Worst Class Trip Ever (The Worst, #1)|Dave Barry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418770456s/23197599.jpg|42742514], which I read, well, two days ago.

Let me start this off by mentioning the historical intro. Turns out this book was inspired by real events. The Qwikpick gas station is a real place and there’s a real photo to prove it. Angleberger does this cool thing of inserting photos throughout the book. The pages are another cool thing. They look like photocopies of actual typewritten text. What I love most about Angleberger’s writing is how he goes off on tangents to explain things that no one would think needs explaining. For example, he explains how Lyle ends up with a typewriter instead of a computer in 2000 when typewriters were already becoming obsolete. This is Angleberger’s signature style, which I’m a little addicted to.

The thing I was not expecting from this book was a feeling of nostalgia. Not a feeling I like, because it means you want something that’s gone. In this case, it brought back the memory of a time (not that long ago) when kids came up with the cleverest ideas to stave off boredom. Sometimes they were so simple it’s hard to believe, like trying to throw a football into a space a foot wide without touching the walls. Sometimes they required more bravery, such as breaking into a sewage plant.

How does this come to be? Well, Lyle’s parents manage the Qwikpick gas station and always work on Christmas Day. Marilla is a Jehovah’s Witness and Dave is Jewish. This means Christmas Day is usually boring. As members of the Qwikpick Adventure Society they are obligated to thwart boredom on Christmas Day. Marilla comes up with the idea to sneak into the local sewage plant to see the poop fountain before it is dismantled in January. This book is the record of the Society’s first adventure. ( )

Lyle, Marilla, and Dave have started the Qwikpick Adventure Society, and on Christmas Day, they have their first adventure to a Sewage Plant to see the sludge fountain. The simple facts of Lyle's family working on Christmas and Marilla's celebrating Hanukkah are great bits that open up kids' minds that not everyone is alike. The plot is wholly forgettable when you finish it, yet quite engaging when you're reading it. The descriptions and scenarios of three kids at a stinky sewage plant is a recipe for middle grade humor, so I would guess that this book would fly off the shelf. After all, it has "poop" in the title. ( )

I had no idea of the history of this book. I just saw initial announcements and thought "hey, new series by Tom Angleberger!" Only later did I discover that it was actually his first published book and has now been reissued under his better-known name. I'm also not absolutely sure it's going to be a continuing series, which I will not tell my cataloger because we put the series on the spine! Oh nooooes!

At first, Lyle, Marilla, and Dave were a casual group of friends. However, when they realized they'd be the only kids who didn't have something to do on Christmas - Lyle's parents work at the Qwikpick, Dave is Jewish and Marilla's family are Jehovah's Witnesses - they decide they need to have a real adventure. A chance notice of an article in the paper and they decide on an outing to the soon-to-be-renovated sewage factory to see the poop fountain before it's removed. It's a journey full of unexpected surprises, much laughter, and horrible smells.

The story is narrated by protagonist Lyle Hertzog in the journalistic style that will be familiar to Angleberger fans now, but must have been quite confusing when this first came out, back before Wimpy Kid fever had hit. Lyle is honest, funny, and casual about the things that make up his quirky group of friends. He talks about his family's financial issues, how he feels about his wealthier friend's casual acceptance of money, and how their adventure changes their friendship.

Like Angleberger's later books, this is a surprisingly light and funny adventure with a lot going on beneath the surface. It doesn't hammer home the lessons, but uses the kids' realistic voices to not only give a voice to kids who are generally not portrayed in middle grade fiction but also to inspire a little deeper thought about what's going on in the lives of the kids around you. Unlike Amy Koss' The Not-So-Great-Depression, there are no fairy-tale, happy-ever-after endings; life goes on as usual (possibly just a little smellier than before). But there's laughter and friends and, as Lyle says, "now we're more than just kids who eat together or hang around together - we're The Qwickpick Adventure Society and nobody else at school can say that."

Verdict: A must-have for your collection. Not only will kids pick it up because of the author recognition, it's worth recommending on its own as a great story with just a little more. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781419704253; Originally published 2007, this edition published 2014 by Amulet/Abrams; Purchased for the library

A bi-racial, Jehovah's Witness girl; a poor boy from the trailer park; a nerdy Jewish boy — all victims of school bullying.

Sounds like a perfect trio of protagonists for a serious book of realistic fiction, doesn't it? But it's not—not really. These are the founding members of Tom Angleberger's hilarious new creation, the QwikPick Adventure Society, which makes its debut in a new series, The QwikPick Papers.

So, what do this Jehovah's Witness, Jew, and very poor kid have in common? At first, only that each has nothing to do on Christmas Day. Marilla and Dave don't celebrate Christmas and don't enjoy spending time at home. Lyle's parents have to work at the QwikPick convenience store all day. But don't feel sorry for them. It's the perfect day for a secret mission to visit the Poop Fountain, an antiquated aeration device at the town's waste water treatment plant.

Written as an illustrated "report" by the QwikPick Adventure Society, this novel of only 135 pages, Poop Fountain! is stomach-churning disgusting at times, and hilariously funny at others. That's why kids will love it, but it's not why you should.

You should love it because Angleberger has proved again (as in the Origami Yoda series) that he can tackle sensitive subjects with charm and a good deal of humor.


"Everybody else was talking about the Super Bowl coming up that weekend, but we all agreed that it was stupid and football was stupid and the Redskins' mascot was stupid.
Unfortunately, Jeremy heard me saying something and hollered down the table, "Hey, if we wanted any of your crap, I'd beat it out of you."
"Shove it, Jeremy," said Dave, which was the nicest thing anyone had ever said in my honor.
When it was time to go, Marilla said, "Hey, if you want, I'll save this seat for you tomorrow."
That was when, without them even knowing it, Marilla and Dave became my best friends."

Other reasons for you to love Poop Fountain!, "shout-outs" to
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
Fred Astaire
The Princess Bride (the movie)
the BBC

Coming to a bookshelf near you in May, 2014. (Advance Reader Copy)
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