Masters of Disaster
Children's Literature – Jean Boreen: Henry worries that he and his friends Riley and Reed "may be the most boring twelve-year-olds on the planet." So Henry talks his friends into joining him on a number of wacky adventures that often put all three friends, but Reed in particular, into some sticky and stinky situations. Henry takes it upon himself to come up with the adventures, Riley researches aspects of the adventures to assess if they can be done, and Riley gets stuck actually doing most of the hare-brained stunts that seem to go along with the adventures. Henry's first idea is to break the world record for the most forward airborne somersaults on a bike; his idea is to have Reed use a neighbor's garage, then their diving board, to give Reed enough time to hit four somersaults. The concept works, but Reed ends up sitting in garbage, a disposable diaper filled with "doody" on his head. So begins the concept of stink, as with each adventure, Reed somehow ends up with something smelly stuck to his body. As one would expect from Paulsen, the adventures he creates are hilarious and death-defying in ways only twelve-year-old-boys could create. If you have a young reader looking for a fun and accessible book, this one is certainly a great choice. Reviewer: Jean Boreen, Ph.D.