This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!LOONIVERSE is an exciting new series that combines fantasy and humor. In this first book, Ed finds a coin bearing the words "strange, stranger." Once this coin comes into his life, strange things start happening all around him. One of his friends gets stuck in midair, his brother turns into a pool float, and his sister's food makes its way off her plate! Even more bizarre events all lead up to a surprise ending, leaving Ed with a new responsibility and a realization that there's more to this mysterious coin than meets the eye!
School Library Journal
Gr 1–3—Boris is an energetic character who longs for adventure, just like those his parents had before they turned their old bus into a house. One day they take him on an adventure of his own. Disappointed at first that it's only to another part of their town, he soon realizes that adventures can happen anywhere-even in his own backyard. This is a fun easy reader book with great full-color cartoons, brief text in large print, and likable characters. A bonus page gives instructions for making a compass, leading to a great interactive experience. Stranger Things has a bit more text and fewer illustrations. Ed feels that he does not have any interesting traits or talents; he is simply an extremely normal boy. However, he has no idea just what is in store for him when he finds a coin that says "strange, stranger." Soon everything is erupting into chaos, from his sister's food train turning into an actual moving train at the dinner table to a friend being able to turn his head completely around. Are these strange happenings trying to send Ed a message? This is a silly book that will pull kids in with the goofy plot and the fun black-and-white illustrations. The truly strange thing about this book is that it references Albert Camus's The Stranger, an odd choice for this audience. These books should be considered for larger libraries wanting to enhance their easy-reader collections.—Elizabeth Swistock, Orange County Public Library, VA
From the Publisher
Praise for LOONIVERSE #2: MELTDOWN MADNESS"Liberally endowed with jokes, twists and comical line drawings, the tale scrambles its way energetically to a chocolaty resolution." -KIRKUS REVIEWS
Praise for LOONIVERSE #1: STRANGER THINGS
"This is a silly book that will pull kids in with the goofy plot and the fun black-and-white illustrations." –SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Praise for PUNISHED!
"This lighthearted fantasy would be an excellent classroom read-aloud. The language concepts are deftly explained and the clever, wordplay-filled dialogue provides numerous examples. There is an emphasis on problem-solving and self-reliance as well . . . [Young readers] will howl at the atrocious puns and repeat them at the earliest opportunity." -SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Wordplay is at the heart of this funny, surreal adventure in which even the title is a pun . . . An appealing mix of magic and silliness." -BOOKLIST
Children's Literature - Shirley Nelson
On the way home from school one day, third grader Ed finds a silver coin with the words "Strange, Stranger" written on each side. He thinks nothing of it at first, but suddenly it seems that strange things are happening all around him. He reads the story of the Pied Piper to his little sister and suddenly the house is overrun with mice. His older sister's food sculpture of a train suddenly moves off the table. His brother writes one thousand words and exchanges them for a painting from a neighbor. As Ed's life becomes stranger and stranger, he visits Mr. Sage at the New Curiosity Shop. Mr. Sage tells him the coin is known as the Silver Center. He also points out that the words are fading. Mr. Sage says that Ed must give the coin to The Stranger before the words fade completely or all the strangeness in the world will disappear. Ed thinks this would be a good thing until he is reminded that without strangeness the most important inventions or art would not have been created. Ed sets out on a search to find The Stranger and save the world's strangeness. Black-and-white drawings enhance this strange story that will be a delight for beginning readers who will eagerly anticipate future stories of the Looniverse. Book one in the "Looniverse" series. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson
Kirkus Reviews
Logic takes a little too much of a flyer for this series opener to hold together. Considering that Ed has three identical friends named Quentin and a little brother, Derwin, who attends the Albert Camus Primary School, readers might be forgiven for thinking that his life seems strange enough. After finding a coin in the grass labeled "STRANGE, STRANGER" on both sides, though, suddenly Ed's plagued by peculiarities. One sister concocts a real locomotive at dinnertime from turkey and "wheels" of cranberry sauce, another leads a swarm of mice around the living room after listening to the "Pied Piper" story, and Derwin exchanges a list of a thousand words for a tall, thin neighbor's picture (get it?), among other mystifying events. Ed learns from the proprietor of the New Curiosity Shop that unless he can pass the rapidly eroding coin off to a "Stranger," the world will fall into mediocrity. In an ending that may be appropriately absurd but will leave readers feeling betwixt and between, Ed realizes that he has to bestow the coin on…himself. Part of the publisher's new Branches line of chapter books, this title is ostensibly aimed at 5- to 7-year-olds, but the obscure (to the age group) literary references and general tone skew it to well-read older elementary students. Despite the comical cartoon illustrations on every page, this setup volume is just possibly too clever to give its target audience any reason to read on. Now there's an existential dilemma. (Fantasy. 7-10)
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