Book Review: Spaceheadz Book 1 (SPHDZ) by Jon Scieszka and a GIVEAWAY!

SPHDZ Book #1! (Spaceheadz) by Jon Scieszka
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication date: June 2010
ISBN: 9781416979517
Source: ARC provided by publisher

 

Michael is just starting fifth grade at a new school and wants to make a good impression.  Unfortunately for him, there are two other new kids that are weird beyond belief, and he gets lumped in with them.  It turns out they are even weirder than he thought, coming from a planet called Spaceheadz and speaking almost exclusively in commercial slogans.  They think Michael can help them prevent Earth from being turned off, but he thinks they are just nuts.  With a secret agent on their trail, will Michael decide to help them or simply turn them in?

Things I Liked:
The book was just so fun to read!  It was short, simple, and full of humor and hilarious uses of commercials.  This is definitely not your typical book, being full of excellent drawings and coming with interactive websites that continue the experience.  The illustrations are fun and keep the story moving.  The aliens will draw in sci-fi fans, the humor should satisfy reluctant readers, and the technology to go with it ought to satisfy the other tweens.  An all around fun, fast, and hilarious start to a new series.

Things I Didn't Like:
The story is a little lacking, being most obviously an introduction to a series.  I am sure it will suck people in, but it doesn't leave you a lot to satisfy.  Kids will be clamoring for the sequel so they can know what happens next.  Definitely this will only be fun for kids below a certain age.  Once they get a little bit older, there will be eye rolling and a complete lack of interest.  But it should please the tween and younger crowds completely.  

Read-alikes:
Diary of a Wimpy Kids books by Jeff Kinney
Anything written by Dav Pilkey

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ****

For the giveaway, there will be two winners who each receive (thanks to Simon and Schuster and Big Honcho Media):
A copy of Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka!
A neon Spaceheadz pencil!

The perfect gift for your tween or to add to your school library collection. To enter, just fill out the form below {contest closed}. You must be 13 years or older to enter. Contest ends Friday, September 17th.


Additional info about the book:
Websites that go with the book:
At sphdz.com, you can sign up to be a SPHDZ and help stop the Earth from being turned off.
At antialienagency.com, you can see what the government is doing to protect the Earth from the alien menace.
At mrshalleyscomets.com, you can see Michael K.'s fifth-grade class website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 
Jon Scieszka is the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, named by the Library of Congress. He is the author of some of the best known and funniest books written for children including The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Time Warp Trio series and the Caldecott Honor Book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales.  He is the creator of the Trucktown series, of which Smash!Crash! was an NY Times bestseller for many weeks.  Jon is a former elementary school teacher, and a avid promoter of literacy—particularly for boys. His website www.guyssread.com focuses on his national campaign. Jon lives with his family in Brooklyn, NY.

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.

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