~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE
MONDAY ACTION &
ADVENTURE FEATURE ~
-- 'IGGY & OZ: THE PLASTIC
DINOS OF DOOM' --
AUTHOR J. J. JOHNSON
~Post Includes: Book Spotlight,
Author Bio & Review~
What if hundreds of plastic toy dinosaurs suddenly came to life- Could you find a way to stop them...?
Iggy Risner is your typical wise-cracking twelve year old. When his younger brother, Oz, wakes him in the middle of the night claiming he heard a monster in the attic, Iggy takes him upstairs to prove him wrong. But instead of a flesh-eating beast, they discover hundreds of their toy plastic dinosaurs that have mysteriously come to life.
When the dinos escape the attic and start terrorizing young kids in the neighborhood, and trampling flower beds, somehow Iggy, Oz, and their friends must catch the plastic dinos of doom before the damage escalates. But what do you do when your parent's doubt your story, and a group of clueless neighborhood bullies stand in the way?
For Iggy & Oz- Catching the little beast may prove to be easier said, than done.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Amazon.com & Goodreads}:
J.J. Johnson grew up in Pryor Creek Oklahoma. Attending Oklahoma Baptist Universtiy with a major in Student Ministry and a minor in Sociology. He currently resides in Edmond Oklahoma where he lives with his wife Ashley and children.
"Hi, my name is J.J. and I love to write, read, and drink coffee. As I write this I’m sitting in a local brewery sipping a espresso. There are few things in life that I feel need precise division with no room for error, coffee is one of them.
I love comic books, writing fun adventurous Science Fiction, and wasting countless hours on Social Media."
You can follow him on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/jjjohnsonWrites
On Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/jjjohnsonWrites
Visit his website at http://www.jjjohnsonwrites.com
MY THOUGHTS:
The author does a find job of introducing his characters and setting the scene for the story in the beginning of the book. Iggy, the main character and narrator, is a 12-year-old boy who likes to write stories in the journal/diary his mother gave to him. His younger brother, Oz, is nine years old and was adopted from China.
They live in Whispering Pines, "a sprawling gated community," where the majority of the action takes places. Neighborhood kids are introduced throughout the story. Some are friends, some are bullies, and some are just plain strange, according to Iggy.
Oz calls Iggy, 'Captain', so the chapter names in the book are entitled, 'Captain's Log 001', etc. Iggy calls Oz, 'Wizard', so when Oz takes over writing in Iggy's journal, the chapters are entitled, 'Wizard's Log 001', etc.
One night Oz hears scratching and other noises coming from the attic above their bedrooms. He enlists Iggy's help to figure out who or what is up there making all the ruckus. The wild adventure begins . . .
There are dozens of Oz's plastic dinosaurs stored in a chest that Iggy's father bought at the estate sale of a mysterious neighbor on their street, Mr. Chesterson. After a funny episode of how the boys climbed up into the attic, they discover that the dinosaurs have come to life and are marching around the attic. Oh, I forgot to mention the plastic two-foot tall T-Rex that is the leader of all of the little dinosaurs. He's not so nice.
Through trial and error, Iggy, Oz, and their friends Aaron and Jenn determine that the dinos only come to life when there are no adults around. With some clever problem-solving and good, old-fashioned team work, the group, along with the neighborhood bully and his gang, come together to ----------- enough said! You'll have to read this delightful book yourself to find out the rest of the story!
At one point, Iggy lies to his father about who destroyed their neighbor Mrs. McKenzie's flowers. Oz chastises his big brother for lying to their parents. I loved this element of the story because it was handled in a 'teaching a life lesson' sort of way that kids would be able to relate to and understand without being turned off by it. In the Acknowledgments at the end of the story, the author notes that he wanted to write a story for his own children.
Of course, the story includes a fair share of middle-grade gags with slime, mucous, vomit, worms, etc. There is some mention of blood when the dinos nip at fingers and toes. However, I feel the book is completely clean in language and content.
Highly-recommended! This is a fast-paced, fun story with lots of humor. It would make a great family or classroom read-aloud.
Disclosure from reviewer: I was given access to a digital copy of this book by JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not compensated in any way for posting my review on this site or any other site.
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Learn about more great middle-grade reads by visiting Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' blog to find the links to other blog posts celebrating Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday!
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