Cloudy with a Chance of Boys

Gr 4—6—In the third book (Candlewick, 2011) in Megan McDonald's "The Sisters Club" series, the three Reel sisters are dealing with boys, Shakespeare, first kisses, and frogs. Younger sister Joey is into frogs and doesn't understand why anyone would risk cooties to spend time with a boy. Middle sister Stevie isn't really expecting to like boys, but the new kid at school has other plans. Teenager Alex desperately wants to be Juliet in the school play, and is making plans to orchestrate the perfect first kiss. Nothing works out quite as any of them expect. Jenna Lamia reads with enthusiasm and humor, creating unique voices for the characters. The book doesn't lend itself well to a strictly audio presentation since the illustrations are key to portions of the book—the explanation of palm-reading, for example, not to mention cloud types. And the variety of viewpoints, lists of weird facts, and asides are fun in a visual format, but interrupt the flow of the story in the audiobook. Also, the CDs seem to end when they run out of room, rather than at a logical transition point, leaving listeners hanging until the next CD is in place. Still, girls will enjoy this presentation, especially if the book is available so they don't miss out on the illustrations.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA