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How to
Survive
A Totally Boring Summer
Story by Alice DeLaCroix
Illustrations by Cynthia Fisher
Reviewed by
Rick Kennedy
Holiday House, 2007
ISBN:
0823420248
hard cover, 99 pages
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When we last saw Randall in The Hero of the Third Grade (2002) he had
survived his parents breakup, a move to a new town, the challenge of making
friends at a new school, and even the attentions of an annoying bully. It’s
not that Rushville is a bad place to live, but now that school is out
Randall and his pals Max and Tara face an even greater challenge: How to
Survive A Totally Boring Summer. Lucky for our heroes, and upper
elementary school readers everywhere, Randall can play chess.
Faster than the Scholar’s Mate, the newly-formed Checkmate
Squad has a plan to commandeer the park’s chess tables, with visions of
glorious pawn-pushing a couple days a week. They’ll even teach those
who don’t know how to play. Along the way, from the first chapter
“Opening Moves” to “Endgame,” there are some mysteries to solve and
characters to meet, like the enigmatic Bird Man, Mrs. Mick and her krupnick,
a parrot who greets people with “Love ya, gorgeous,” and the return of mean
old Gordo.
How to Survive A Totally Boring Summer is not a book
of chess instruction (although ten pages at the back are devoted to
“Randall’s Guide to Chess”). Rather, it is an engagingly pleasant
chapter-book with some simple lessons to teach, not all about chess.
[Editor's note: According to the Publisher's website, the book's
target age-group is 6-9 years of age.]
In
an age of ever-present video games and endless satellite television, the
kids’ solution to the classic refrain I’m bored should bring a smile
to the face of every parent and educator.
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