The Terrible Two

At NCTE, I was not only lucky enough to get an ARC of The Terrible Two but I also had a chance to meet Mac Barnett and Jory John. (I even won a prize at the Abrams booth while chatting with them:-)  They were very fun and since Mac Barnett will be visiting our school this spring, I decided to put this book on the top of my pile and I finished it this weekend.

I loved this book. It is about a boy named Miles who moves to a new school. He is determined to become known as the school prankster as he was in his old school. When he arrives at his new school, he is given a "buddy" named Niles.  The two do not become fast friends but they do begin a prank war and finally become partners in pranking.

I am not usually a fan of funny books. I always find funny books to be more plot-based than character based and I love to get to know the characters. But it seems that Barnett and John have created a funny book with great characters.  I loved Miles and Niles and I enjoyed Principal Barkin and all of his issues.  The book made me laugh out loud and had me rooting for both characters.  It is not often that I find a "funny" middle grade book that I loved, but I loved this one. I am thinking the sophisticated humor that is evident in most of Barnett's work really works well in longer novels too.  This is a book for all readers. I think of all of the books that are so critical to get some kids reading in the middle grades and this one should be added to that list. I can see kids becoming readers because of this book.

This book is due out in January and it seems perfect for grades 3-5. From some googling, it sounds like The Terrible Two is the first in a series of books by these authors. How exciting is that?!