The Good Son
By Todd Strasser

Saddened by his mother's death and left by his father who went on business trip, 12-year old Mark finds himself staying with his cousin, Henry, throughout his winter break. While he is there something totally surprising happens. His 12-year old cousin seems.. well.. evil! After killing a dog and threaten to kill his family, Mark decides he has to put stop to this. Unfortunately, more he hangs out with Henry, the more Henry scares him. Nobody believes Mark, so he has to gather up his courage and take the risk in order to save Henry's family.

"Mark looked over the rock. On the other side of the stream was the brown and white dog- the one that had chased them over the footbridge. It was trotting along the water's edge unaware of Henry and Mark. Henry began to move the spike gun in tome with the dog. It seemed to Mark that Henry was aiming right at it.
What are you doing? -Asked Mark
There was a click and a loud sprung."

This book really shows that you have to trust in yourself to achieve something. I think that this book will really stop your heartbeat, and I promise you that you will be put through a scary, but an exciting adventure. It's a book that you will cherish forever.

Some movie novelizations are very bad. Others are very good. "THE GOOD SON" falls in with that good category. The book is chilling and very good writing. It gives us a portrait of our young hero, Mark, played by Elijah Wood in the movie from 20th Century Fox, that is not seen in the movie. We can hear his thoughts on the death of his mother. The character of Mark in the movie seems at times selfish and mean to those trying to help him, like Alice Davenport. In the book we see why he acts like this. Of course, the movie can't be blamed for this; it is just a movie and it would be distracting if we actually did hear Mark's thoughts. The best part of this book is the portrayal of Henry, played by Macaulay Culkin in arguably his best performance. The movie does not have time to show the darkest sides of Henry and the book makes him more evil and more heartless. The movie is dark and exciting, but it is not often scary. I read the book before the movie, and both are very good. Both gi

I really enjoyed this book. I rated it 4 stars because I did not like the ending that much. If you have the money for this book I would buy it but you could find WAY better books by Todd Strasser than this but it is still very GOOD!

The book is a very funny book and i wlould tell anyone that like theys books to buy it now

This book is by far the best children's book about witches and magick that I have ever had the pleasure of sharing with my children. If you are sick of your children coming home after school and watching TV or playing video games then this book will surly get them reading instead. If you are familiar with the movie Hocus Pocus, this book follows basically the same plot line but not really. It does have some twists and turns along the way. I recommend this book for all those young readers out there in BookWorld.

This is a story about three witches that try to take childrens souls to live longer.The witches are the Sanderson sisters.they are very mean.Thay try to chase poeple.

My favorite book is Don't Get Caught Driving The School Bus by Todd Strasser. I chose this book because I was having trouble picking out a book so my sister recommended it to me. It looked boring but when I started reading it I liked it. This book took place around our time, now. The characters in this book are wild and funny, though one character is mean.
In this book there is one important event, because it is a fiction (not real) book. It was where the kids on the bus where trouble makers. They got in trouble and the bus driver pulled over in the middle of train tracks. He got up and yelled. When he went to sit down, he bumped his head on the bar and got knocked out. They got up and heard a train so one of the boys had to drive them to safety. I think the author was trying to say: 'Even if you're trouble makers you can be heroes too.' I recommend this book if you like humor or adventure and excitement.

This was a very funny book with a lot of humor. It was about three 7th graders, Wilson, Dusty, and Kyle. They had just received a new bus driver named "Sarge." Sarge used to work at a prison, and he treats all kids like they're criminals. But Wilson, Dusty, and Kyle can't take it. They decide to show Sarge who's in charge!

Kyle, Dusty, and Wilson are always in trouble. From the carelessness of eachother, they accidently left a wasp's nest in the school bus. Poor Grandma (the bus driver) was replaced by an old prison bus driver because she was sent to the hospital. Kyle, Dusty, and Wilson do everything trying toget rid of him. Now they have put themselves, the single digits, and the bus driver in a life and death situation.

In Jumangi, Chris Van Allsburg details the story of Peter and Judy's afternoon. Through his words and pictures, he describes their eventful afternoon. On a boring afternoon, these two siblings are left alone. Before their parents leave, the two children are warned not to disorganize the house. However, once the children find an interesting board game, their once boring and uneventful afternoon becomes full of action and a bit of chaos. In this picture book, the author, who is also the illustrator uses black and white illustrations that are full of depth. Through his descriptive words and pictures, one can clearly witness the children's afternoon. The simple, yet detailed illustrations add to the characters, sets the setting, and mood. Jumanji's award winning illustrations are unique and add to the concept of fantasy in the book. Many children will enjoy this story or anyone who has experienced a boring afternoon or played an imaginative board game. The book may be slightly scary for younger children, but will encompass the attention of older readers. This book takes the reader along with the children on a wonderful adventure. JUMANJI!

Jumanji is a story about a board game.The main characters are Alan,Sarah,Peter and Judy.The story starts off in Brantford New Hampshire,in 1869.In the beginning two young boys are riding through the forest.Finally they reach a spot where they bury a box.100 years later,a 12 old boy called Alan Parrish finds the box after being chased by some bullies.He decided to take the box home.At home when he was about to open the box,his friend Sarah came over.Together they open the box.Inside they found a board game called Jumanji.They decided to play it.Unfortunatly Alan got trapped in the Jungle.Then the story goes on to say what happens in the future.I won't say what happens next because i don't want to ruin the story for you but it's a really good book yo read!

I am a student of West Virginia State College, currently taking a class on Children's Literature. Mr. Samples (A Wonderful Teacher) has instructed us to review a Caldecott winner and write our thoughts on it. I read this book after seeing the movie and, of course, it is quite different. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of the differences and its speedy nature. I believe that children of various ages would enjoy this book because of the quick adventure and excellent illustrations. I would recommend this book to anyone for a classic family reading time, classroom reading, or bedtime story!

I thought the movie was really cute and was anxious to read the book. Unfortunately, I was VERY disappointed. The book spent way too little time developing the romance between Nicole and Chase.

After seeing the movie I was very anxious to read the book. It was so good! The plot basically the same but with some new and different things. It also gives you a lot to really think about, which I found to be good in a teen book. Also, the WAY it was written was fun and something I haven't ever seen done before. If you liked the movie, you will most likely enjoy the book too!

very well done with the alternating characters. I can't wait to see Drive Me crazy' it looks so good

This book was neat because you could read about Episode 1 through Anakin's point of view. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it was good. I liked it because it talked about a lot of things that Anakin was thinking that weren't in the movie. Over all, it was a really good book. I would recommend reading this book and Queen Amidala's Journal. ****

It is an interesting book focusing mainly on Anakin's emotions. It also gives additional details from Anakin's perspective.It is a good book but has a few flaws as some details which should have been there are excluded. The descriptions given by Anakin is similar to what any nine year old would think if they had the same experience.It is told in the first person as it's a journal and Anakin narrates his story to the reader. However it can be confusing at times and a few scenes from the movie are left out.Over all it is an enjoyable book and I recommend that you get a copy soon as possible if you have an appetite for science fiction or a fan of Star Wars who is not too hardcore.

This told about what happened in the new Star Wars movie, Episode I, through a journal by nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker. I reccomend this book if you liked the movie. It expands on his character and is a fun book to read.

This is a review of the book The Wave by Todd Strasser. "Strength through Discipline; Strength through Community, Strength through Action". I am sure that Hitler had a similar motto for the Nazi Party. Even though it was initially a good idea for Mr. Ross's class to experience what Nazi life was like, it soon got out of hand. However, for some students it was something to look forward to because they had nothing else going on in their life.
I liked this book very much. It helped me see how it is possible that people are very sure that they are doing the right things but it turns out that what they are doing is totally wrong. I still can't believe that this really happened at a high school in 1969. It is unreal that something so horrible could happen only 30 years after WWII.
It seems that Mr. Ross was trying to do good for his history class, but he should have ended it as soon as they had just a little taste of Nazi life. It surprised me very much on page 95 that Brad would not let Laurie up the bleachers without doing the salute. I thought that was the first big sign that The Wave was getting out of hand. "Just do the stupid salute" Brad said. My understanding here was that he didn't want to do it either.
The moral of this story is to not always follow the crowd, but to keep your own identity. The letter Laurie received from the anonymous junior read: "Aren't you going to stick with your friends"? This was what the Wave member had said to the junior in trying to convince him to join The Wave. That just shows how people can be mind-controlled by a person in power. I can identify with the feelings, because it is not always easy to not give in to peer pressure
I would definitely recommend this book. It was an interesting read and left me wanting more.

I really enjoyed the book because it was very thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat and alway wondering what was goining to happen next. The author, Todd Strasser never left a dull moment in the story and you felt as if you were a character in the story as well. The novel was so exciting because David Collins and Laurie Saunders, a very intelligent, popular couple had a relationship that started to spin out of control when a new formation was invented called The Wave. The Wave was an example of Nazi Germany and showed how history can repeat itself. It was really interesting to see how the students reacted to the wave. There was a lot of violence due to the wave and this helped certain people realize how bad the wave truely is.

I'll start out by saying to adults out there that this is a book I would highly recommend...for your youngsters. First, it has characters that young adults like to read about--high schoolers, cheerleaders, football players, etc. Strasser also includes minor characters for break away from the action or for comic relief. I know my students enjoyed the characters, especially the girls who enjoyed the interaction between them and the fact that the progagonist is a female. Second, it deals with things that many young adults should know more about and/or have strong feelings about: the Holocaust and peer pressure. Discussing Nazi-ism with my class prior to reading the book caused them to ask many of the questions that the characters asked. The book helped them to understand the Holocaust better and lead to a discussion about peer pressure and the importance of setting your limits clearly before someone in high school pressures you into something (drugs, drinking, sex, stereotyping). Finally, it's a well written book. It has short chapters (everyone likes those), it's fast paced (because the book takes place over a week or so) and the main points are easilly understandable because the author has the characters repeat important information in different ways several times to make sure the young adult reader is not getting lost in sub-plots. In all, an excellent work that more parents or other adults should read with their children.

Help! I'm Trapped in Obedience School! was really funny. There are three boys in the story named Jake, Andy, and John. Andy gets turned into a dog by his science teacher's machine and it leads to big problems!

I thought it was a very funny and amusing story. You can look for the other Help! I'm trapped in...whatever series if you like it,too!

Help! I'm trapped in obedience school
By Carson

I read, help! I'm trapped in obedience school. It's written by Todd strasser, and the genre is fiction. He also wrote all the other, help I'm trapped in' books (he wrote the whole series). The plot is that, a boy named Andy, switches bodies with Jake's dog, lance (Jake is the main character), and the things they go through at home, school and on the streets.
Andy is gross because he shoots spitballs through his nose. He's stubborn because he doesn't want to turn back into a human because as a dog he gets to be lazy and not wash.
This book is funny because Jake keeps trying to talk to Andy. This makes every one stare at him (they don't know that Andy is in lance) that happens on page 48, in obedience school.
Jake and Josh some times walk over to Andy's house, I walk over to my friend's houses all the time. Jake has a pet and so do i. Jake has a dog, I have reptiles.
Jake is a good kid (he's not a troublemaker) because he doesn't give people answers in school, and he doesn't like it when his friends make fun of his sister. He's persistent because he keeps trying to get Andy into his own body even after Andy doesn't want to, and he's been made fool of, he even makes up excuses to get Andy into his old body.
Then as soon as Jessica (Jake's older sister) says "its time to get groomed" then suddenly Andy doesn't want to be a dog any more. After that they sneak into Dirksons (dirkson is the science professor) garage so they could use the d.i.t.s. To switch Andy back to'well Andy. There's only one problem' well you have to find out for your self.

Can you guess what happened?

This book by Todd Strasser is the best dog book I have ever read. In this book, Jake, Andy (Jake's best friend), and Lance (Jake's dog) go into Mr.Dirkson's (Jake and Andy's science teacher) garage. Then Jake presses a button and makes Andy and Lance switch bodies. I'm not going to tell you anymore or else I would spoil it for you. Good-Bye!

I personally thought this book STUNK! My older brother who is 15 (and in my opinion should by now be reading more advanced books) enjoyed this book ver much and has the whole series. But if your more like me you should probably stick with Lord of the rings and such. The author is deffinaly generated towards people around the age of 7 and 10!

This book rocked. A Must see. The part were Jake and Vald swicth body's it a cool part. Will Jake stay a vampire and have to drink V8 jucie or will he be a human agian? Read and Find out.

Everyone is suspicious of Vlad, the new, pale, custodian. The DITS (Dirksen Intelligence Transfer System [It makes people switch bodies, but it's supposed to just transfer their intelligence levels; created by a guy with the last name of Dirksen]) malfunctions near Vlad, and when Jake's wakes up the next day- he's got a pale face and fangs. Jake uses a sunscreen to make his face look noraml. How will he ever fix this mess?