The Great Garage Sale. (Orca Echoes). Marilyn Helmer. Illustrated by Mike Deas. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2013. 61 pp., pbk., pdf & epub, $6.95 (pbk.). ISBN 978-1-45980-060-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-45980-061-8 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-45980-445-6 (epub). Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Laura Dick. ** /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

DJ opened the door. The house was silent. Tiger the Terrible was nowhere to be seen. DJ breathed a huge sigh of relief and raced toward the kitchen. Then he heard it – a terrible, yowling, growling, tiger-in-the-jungle sound.

DJ skidded to a stop. Tiger the Terrible guarded the kitchen doorway. Her tail stood up like a bristle brush. Her fur puffed out like a dust mop. She looked three sizes bigger than usual.

DJ took a step closer. Tiger the Terrible hissed like a deflating bicycle tire.

DJ tries his best, but things always seem to go wrong when he is involved. When his mom asks him to weed the garden, DJ ends up pulling up plants, not weeds. When his grandma asks him to help with her garage sale, DJ mistakenly sells the wrong box of the neighbour’s jewelry. DJ’s grandma and Ms. Rowbottom, the neighbor, are not pleased. The only way to make things right is to give up his beloved skateboard, Speedwell. Poor DJ.

     An early chapter book in the “Orca Echoes” series, The Great Garage Sale will appeal to newly independent readers. Short sentences, large font and good spacing between lines make this an accessible read.

     Many readers, and their parents, will connect with the adventures of DJ, an irrepressible ball of energy who tries desperately to do the right thing.

Recommended.

Laura Dick is trying to raise four teenagers while attempting to maintain her sanity. She escapes to work as a branch manager at a mid-sized public library in Southwestern Ontario.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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