Never glue your friends to chairs

The first title in this new series for independent readers introduces good-hearted, mishap-prone first-grader Roscoe. In short chapters filled with simple, snappy sentences, Roscoe tells his own story. He's excited about his class' bee-song performance for the school open house. But the students' bobbing antennas keep slipping, and kids won't stay seated. Aiming to help, he tries Super-Mega-Gonzo Glue, a too-successful solution that attaches antennas to chairs and brings chaos, remorse, and new appreciation for glue's cautions. Roscoe is an appealing, lively kid whose story is both entertaining and thought provoking (adults may want to review with kids the meaning and repercussions of permanent glue), and Biggs' expressive pencil drawings add to the humor. A list of Way Cool Things that Somebody Should Invent closes. The second title in the series, Roscoe Riley Rules #2: Never Swipe a Bully's Bear, is scheduled for simultaneous release.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2008 Booklist

Gr 1-2-These early chapter books begin and end in the time-out chair. In Friends, Roscoe's first-grade class is getting ready for open house. It's supposed to involve a performance of singing bumblebees followed by dessert. However, add one hyper, trouble-finding boy (Roscoe) with a tube of Super-Mega-Gonzo Glue and too many bright ideas and you've got a recipe for disaster. In Sweater, Roscoe trades an itchy sweater that his grandmother made him for his neighbor's dog so he can enter the animal in a pet show. The protagonist always means well and the adults can usually see a big heart behind his antics-after they've calmed down a bit. Both stories are fun reads with simple and amusing cartoon illustrations. Good choices for children transitioning from beginning readers to chapter books.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs Chapter One Welcome to Time-Out Hey! Over here! It's me. Roscoe. Welcome to the Official Roscoe Riley Time-out Corner. Want to hang out with me? I have to warn you, though. We're going to be here for a while. See, I kinda got in some trouble today. Again. Kids have to follow so many rules! Sometimes my brain forgets to remem-ber them all. It's not like I try to find ways to get in trouble. It's just that trouble has a way of finding me. Truth is, I'm just a normal, everyday kid like you. My favorite food is blue M&M's. My favorite sport is bed jumping. My favorite color is rainbow. And my most not-favorite thing is lima beans. See? Like I said. Just a normal, everyday kid. A normal, everyday kid who sometimes gets into trouble. Like today. I was just trying to help out my teacher. How was I supposed to know you shouldn't glue people to chairs? With Super-Mega-Gonzo Glue? You've done that, haven't you? Oh. Never? Oh. Well, maybe you should hear the whole story. . . . Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs . Copyright © by Katherine Applegate. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.