⋙ PDF Free Nate Rocks the World Karen Pokras Toz 9781463510824 Books

Nate Rocks the World Karen Pokras Toz 9781463510824 Books

Download As PDF : Nate Rocks the World Karen Pokras Toz 9781463510824 Books

Nate Rocks the World Karen Pokras Toz 9781463510824 Books

Why I Think Boys May Enjoy This

When I first read this book description, I actually thought it was a fantasy book (it made me think of ChalkZone, the old Nickelodeon cartoon). In truth, this is actually a pure middle grade literary fiction book and is all the better for it. When I finished reading, my very first thought was: "Nate is Ramona Quimby for boys and the modern generation!" And if you've read my #BooksForBoys reviews, you know my very first one was a Beverly Cleary book. Toz does a fantastic job of really diving into the head of her main character and focusing on the things that drive a 10 year old boy's day-to-day motivations (well-meaning but annoying parents, a pain in the butt big sister, movies and hanging out with his best friend, school).

However, Toz takes this to another level with Nate's insanely awesome imagination in the form of his drawings and daydreaming. She really captures how easy it is for a single thing (for example, a classmate getting a 'spy' pen from a trip to Washington, DC) can trigger a far-fetched adventure in the mind of an imaginative pre-teen boy. Even if it does mean getting in trouble for doodling all over a spelling test.

For the adults in the audience, the story plays out much like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (most recently adapted into a Ben Stiller movie in 2013), where we are thrown into Nate's daydreams seamlessly from his everyday world. This is why it's easy to feel like this could just as well be a fantasy story where Nate's drawings literally DO come to life (because from his perspective [and ours due to Toz's smart use of 1st Person Present POV], they DO!). At the end of the day, Nate is a very wonderful character that any young boy could easily relate to and I can't wait to read the other three books in the series.

Content/Appropriateness

This is a perfectly done middle grade book that works for all ages. A strong reader as young as 8 could read it solo but it really does hit that late elementary school/early middle school target absolutely perfectly. There is some talk of middle grade appropriate boy/girl talk (Nate think they're yucky, his sister is in love with a pop star) but nothing else other than healthy, appropriate family relationships and school interactions. Zero concern about violence, language, or sexuality at all.

Rating

5/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books for Boys Review on 9/4/17.


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Nate Rocks the World Karen Pokras Toz 9781463510824 Books Reviews

My review
Reading books for this age group now that I'm a mom is a little weird. In one scene, Nate's father is recalling an incident involving his own father, a marshmallow, and a microwave. My first thought was, "They wouldn't have had a microwave back then." Except that *I* have a ten-year-old, which makes me around same age (if not older than) Nate's parents. And we had a microwave "back then". I know I'm getting old when I'm closer to the age of the parents in the story than the kids.

Poor Nate has to deal with his mom's bad cooking, an annoying older sister, and a tattle-tale classmate, when all he really wants to do is draw. His sister irritated me, and his oblivious parents weren't much better. But I loved that the whole book wasn't a constant complaint about his family. It's not completely horrible in their home, and their Christmas morning traditions sound like a lot of fun. I loved the ending, too, but of course, I won't tell you more about that. -)

The 10-year-old's review
It was a really good book. I read it four times. (What he doesn't say is that the afternoon it came in the mail, he and the book immediately disappeared for a couple hours. After he read it, he allowed me to read it, but I had to give it right back.)

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
It's not every day you run across a good YA book for boys; so many of them seem to be for girls. Look no further than this one, because Nate Rocks the World is a winner. Ten years old and blessed with a vivid imagination, Nate seeks his escape from the torture inflicted on him by his 13-year-old sister by drawing pictures and escaping into a fantasy world.

The family scenes are priceless, one after another. Mom's cooking is to be avoided at all costs; when Nate snags an invitation to dinner at his friend Tommy's, it's like a miracle. And her lousy cooking is only trumped by her sewing, since his Mom always insists on sewing his Halloween costume. And instead of store-bought Valentine's Day cards Mom insists in pasting cards together using construction paper and heart-shaped doilies, and Nate has to write something on every one ... the drudgeries of life!

When Nate gets paired with his classmate Lisa Crane to work on a science project, his worst fears are realized. Not only will he have to work with the dreaded Lisa, who tells her mother EVERYTHING, and then Lisa's mother of course tells Nate's mother everything, too. Not only that, but he will have to sacrifice two Saturdays in a row to sit at the dining room table with bossy Lisa and work on the prism project. All this when he had planned to go and see the new Captain Asteroid movie with Tommy. Working with Lisa provides the perfect excuse to escape into a daydream featuring Captain Asteroid aided by none other than Nate Rocks, saving the world. What then transpires in the classroom when it's time for Nate and Lisa to give their presentation is hysterically funny on the one hand, but will make you groan with frustration on the other, because it all seems so real.

The story takes place over a period of several months. Nate's sister Abby is drawn just as colorfully as Nate himself, as is Nate's Dad. The writing in Nate Rocks the World is self-assured and swift-paced, just right for readers who are around Nate's age, and their parents. There are a hundred life lessons woven into the fabric of this lovely story, and it's a story you'll be happy to read over and over. I read the book on my , but I'm planning to give the paperback to my 13-year-old next week. I'd bet money he's going to love it.
Why I Think Boys May Enjoy This

When I first read this book description, I actually thought it was a fantasy book (it made me think of ChalkZone, the old Nickelodeon cartoon). In truth, this is actually a pure middle grade literary fiction book and is all the better for it. When I finished reading, my very first thought was "Nate is Ramona Quimby for boys and the modern generation!" And if you've read my #BooksForBoys reviews, you know my very first one was a Beverly Cleary book. Toz does a fantastic job of really diving into the head of her main character and focusing on the things that drive a 10 year old boy's day-to-day motivations (well-meaning but annoying parents, a pain in the butt big sister, movies and hanging out with his best friend, school).

However, Toz takes this to another level with Nate's insanely awesome imagination in the form of his drawings and daydreaming. She really captures how easy it is for a single thing (for example, a classmate getting a 'spy' pen from a trip to Washington, DC) can trigger a far-fetched adventure in the mind of an imaginative pre-teen boy. Even if it does mean getting in trouble for doodling all over a spelling test.

For the adults in the audience, the story plays out much like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (most recently adapted into a Ben Stiller movie in 2013), where we are thrown into Nate's daydreams seamlessly from his everyday world. This is why it's easy to feel like this could just as well be a fantasy story where Nate's drawings literally DO come to life (because from his perspective [and ours due to Toz's smart use of 1st Person Present POV], they DO!). At the end of the day, Nate is a very wonderful character that any young boy could easily relate to and I can't wait to read the other three books in the series.

Content/Appropriateness

This is a perfectly done middle grade book that works for all ages. A strong reader as young as 8 could read it solo but it really does hit that late elementary school/early middle school target absolutely perfectly. There is some talk of middle grade appropriate boy/girl talk (Nate think they're yucky, his sister is in love with a pop star) but nothing else other than healthy, appropriate family relationships and school interactions. Zero concern about violence, language, or sexuality at all.

Rating

5/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books for Boys Review on 9/4/17.