No Bones About It

This was one of my favorite book series as a child. I like it for several reasons. Magic is fascinating for children, so the plot of Katie Kazoo books engages students and motivates them to read. Whenever Katie wishes she could be someone else, there is a shooting star that makes Katie’s wish come true. One of the big lessons of this series is to be careful what you wish for. Children tend to be curious about what life would be like from another person’s perspective, so it is interesting for children to see an ordinary girl get to experience multiple lives and switch between them. Although Katie has powers that an average 4th grader does not have, she is still relatable. Just like many children, Katie is teased and bullied by peers. show more She is accused of being a “goodie goodie” because she wants her peers to behave at their field trip so nobody gets hurt. Students who are teased can read this book and connect to it because they go through similar experiences at school and it makes them feel less alone. The target audience is female because the girls in the story always joke about how boys are a pain. The boys were portrayed as trouble makers. This story would not be engaging for most elementary school boys. The language in this book is simple, without much academic vocabulary. This book is probably meant for entertainment purposes and not widely used in a classroom setting. However, it is an appropriate chapter book for students who are ready to start reading stories more advanced than picture books. show less

A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process simply by reading a large selection of titles that have been recommended to me. Nancy Krulik's "Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo" series was one of them, which I was specifically told is a great example of books perfect for third-graders; and indeed, the two books I read (this and Gotcha! Gotcha Back!) seemed to feature many of the traits that I was told are important to include in literature for this age group, including a strong sense of humor, a quickly-paced but not too complicated storyline, a concentration on the ways that boys and girls interact at that age, lots of show more action and mystery, many scenes set in a school environment, and sentences that average around ten words. For parents, also know that Krulik designs each book to center on one or two common moral lessons she details at her website, and that all the titles feature a racially diverse cast of schoolmates and teachers. These are chapter-books with Americanized manga illustrations by professional duo "John & Wendy," each lasting a little under 10,000 words; 32 exist in the series as of January 2010, and a plethora of supplemental information is offered at the website for teachers and parents. show less