  | Book Details Title: The Best of Iggy |
Book DescriptionReview ★ “The first of a series, this slender chapter book is inviting to pick up, hard to put down, and near-impossible to read without laughing out loud.” –Booklist, starred review“Barrows’s omniscient narrative voice is brilliant. . . Fellow fourth graders will love Iggy for his honesty and humor. But everyone will probably love him most for his motto: ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.'” –The New York Times Book Review”Fabulously funny and perceptive . . . Let’s just say that children with impish tendencies will finish this book feeling seen and understood. And the next time they get into trouble, you can expect to hear all about the extenuating circumstances.” –The Wall Street Journal“[A] lively illustrated series opener about Iggy Frangi, a mischievous, good-hearted nine-year-old who frequently lands himself in trouble and only sometimes regrets it. . . With Iggy, Barrows (the Ivy and Bean series) has created a realistic kid—passionate, funny, and sometimes misguided—whom readers will surely root for as he gains awareness of the relationship between choices and consequences.” –Publishers Weekly “The portrait of a boy as a young rascal. . . Funny, silly, and fairly empathetic—and perhaps even consoling to young, impulsive people who hope to be better (someday).” –Kirkus Reviews “The lovable screwup is an old but perennially appealing trope, and Iggy is a prime example, clueless to how his actions might affect others, frustratingly lacking in foresight but also oddly admirable in his carefree spirit. . . Young readers, especially those with a passion for mischief, will hope there are more chapters of Iggy’s exploits to come.” –The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books“Fans of Barrows’s ‘Ivy + Bean’ series and books about kids who often find themselves landing in trouble will appreciate this laugh-out-loud tale.” –School Library Journal “Humorous and action filled . . . they [students] will be reminded that reading can be fun.” –School Library Connection Read more About the Author Annie Barrows did none of the things in this book. As a kid, Annie Barrows was good and sweet and well-behaved. All the time, she was good. At least, no one ever caught her doing anything bad, which is the same as being good. She was so good that birds landed on her fingertips and sang. She was so good that people gave her candy for no reason. She was so good that her teachers cried when she went to the next grade. She got worse when she grew up.Sam Ricks is the illustrator of the Geisel Award-winner Don’t Throw it to Mo! and the Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face books. He lives with his family in Utah. Twitter @Samuelricks / Website samricks.com Read more Customers Review: Let me start off by saying I like the character in this book. He’s easily relatable to the target audience, and the illustrations enhance the narrative like other similar books (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc). You know the type: It’s not a graphic novel, but the illustrations are very much a part of the story. If you are having trouble getting your little one to enjoy reading, this might be a good book to get them going.However, I felt like this was a sampler- a preview of a bigger book to come. It’s three short stories that deal with times Iggy has done things that got him into trouble, and how he dealt with it and how each time was different. And while he arguably learns a lesson the last time around and regrets it, I feel like as a parent there are some mixed messages being sent about the other times. I don’t appreciate books that glorify troublemakers unless there is a redeeming value to it. There are other books for this age (for example, the James Patterson Middleschool series) that often have redeeming value to the troublemaker characters that make it worthwhile, but I feel like this book sort of glosses over the character development and misses opportunities to really teach a valuable lesson.In other words, it could have been longer and had more value to it, as it is right now it is three short stories that are related to the same person that each describe a somewhat unfortunate event in the life of Iggy… sometimes they were things that had a reason he could have avoided, and they ARE entertaining, but this could have been more. I’d also feel a little disappointed if I paid full price for this book and only got what felt like a sample/teaser. The “best of” makes it sound like a highlight reel… I don’t know, I guess I expected more and didn’t get it. Three stars for at least being a good way to get kids to read.
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25 reviews