Too Much Flapdoodle! (Aunt Mattie) - Hardcover

AMY MACDONALD and CAT BOWMAN SMITH also collaborated on No More Nasty and No More Nice, which Kirkus Reviews praised as “rollicking good fun . . . Sharp characterizations and crack dialogue will have readers laughing out loud.” Ms. MacDonald lives in Falmouth, Maine. Ms. Bowman Smith lives in Pittsford, New York.

Grade 3–6—In this companion novel to No More Nasty (Farrar, 2001) and No More Nice (Scholastic, 1996), 12-year-old Parker is stuck on his great-aunt and great-uncle's ramshackle farm for the summer while his parents embark on a trip around the world. He can't get his cell phone, iPod, or computer to work and there isn't even a telephone in the house. Worse yet, Aunt Mattie and Uncle Philbert expect him to help feed the various critters, split wood, and fish. He's never done a chore in his life. When they refuse to sell the farm to make way for an impending interstate, Parker's lack of physical activity and excess of cowardice are put to the test as neighborhood tormentors young and old threaten both him and the farm. Hilarious antics ensue as the boy matures and realizes that there is more to life than the latest video game. Black-and-white line drawings enhance the lighthearted text. Children will treasure the larger-than-life characters, and they may even realize that their dependence on electronics is overrated.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA
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