The Quikpick Adventure Society By Sam Riddleburger
Dial, 2007
This book is about poop. Well, actually about kids who go to see a poop fountain, but still, if you tell any boy that it’s a book about poop, he’ll read it.
Lyle, Marilla, and Dave are friends and they hang out together, usually at the Quikpick. The Quikpick is a local gas station-slash-convenience store where Lyle’s parents both work. They get tired of just hanging out in the break room at the Quikpick, so they really want to find something interesting to do. Lyle’s parents have to work all day Christmas Day, so they plan to do this really-interesting-adventure on Christmas Day.
They read in the paper that the local wasterwater treatment plant is getting ready to get a new upgrade. They will be closing down their “sludge fountain” and opening new equipment. The timeline for this upgrade? Jan. 2. So they have time for their Christmas Day adventure.
They venture out on Christmas Day to the fountain of poop, as they call it. Yes, there are poop-related disasters. There is messiness. There are several “ooh, gross” moments. I’m telling you…give this to a boy you know!!!
Lyle is the narrator and he types his account of their adventure on his used typewriter his parents bought him for Christmas, but there are handwritten parts to the story too, and Lyle adds handwritten notes to his typed pages. It gives the story such a realistic journal feel.
Why do I love this book?
1) Most kids go on mini-adventures with small groups of friends. At least I did. Even if we never wandered far from home, we were able to create drama out of a mundane event. I even dated a guy once in college who showed me home movies of “adventures” he and his buddies had going from home to the local “Orange Market” (Quikpick-ish).
2) Most kids love to get grossed-out with bathroom humor. This book is not raunchy. The whole thing is not poop jokes. It’s poop--well done. (BTW, I can’t believe I just wrote that).
3) It’s set in Crickenburg, a fictional town based on a real place—Christiansburg, VA. I live only 20 minutes from there, so this book is close to home. And it’s written by a local author (and blogger) Sam Riddleburger (who is married to another local author, Sock Monkey writer and illustrator, Cece Bell). In fact, I got this book at a local Barnes and Noble event with Sam and Cece.
4) The kids write poetry—they even write haiku about their poop experience! Awesome!
Do you know a reluctant boy reader? Then go, buy this book!
1 comment:
Great review! I loved this book, too!
I once went to a conference where Qwikpick's editor, Nancy Mercado, talked about it and how the author does such a great job of writing from the POV of a kid. And I think that is what makes this book shine, and also what made Diary of a Wimpy Kid so great. Hope the kids in your class enjoy it as much as we did, LOL.
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