Stephanie S. Tolan

When an unscrupulous manager absconds with most of the Applewhite family fortunes, Randolph Applewhite hatches a plan to turn their finances around: hosting a summer camp for creative children. After all, their particular brand of insanity worked for Jake, who's now pretty much an honorary Applewhite. Between the lot of them, they can teach workshops in pretty much any art that kids could care to learn, and they have plenty of space in the cabins on-site (Wit's End, the Applewhite homestead, was once a motor lodge). They all dive into preparations, with E.D. coordinating schedules and everyone else planning curriculum and fixing up the property. Of course, what nobody thinks to do is arrange for permits from the state, so when a man purporting to be a state inspector shows up, everyone is thrown into a bit of a tizzy...

This is another fun foray into the world of the Applewhites. I knock off half a star for something unnecessary that happened at the very end of the book, but still, an enjoyable read for fans of the first book.… (mere)

Jake Semple has been kicked out of every school he's ever attended -- in fact, it's rumored that he burned one of them down. Now, his only options are juvie or the Applewhites' Creative Academy. The Applewhites are like nobody Jake has ever met: a multigenerational conglomeration of artists who believe in creativity and independence. And then there's E.D., who shares none of her family's creative genius, but is instead the only one who appears to be capable of organization and administration. When Randolph Applewhite, E.D.'s father, agrees to direct a local production of The Sound of Music, it at first just seems like another layer to the chaos -- until Randolph hears Jake singing one day and insists that he has the voice he needs to fill an empty space in the cast. Jake gets his first taste of being part of a larger endeavor, but then the show is in peril when the technical staff walk off en masse, and the entire Applewhite clan dives in to lend a hand.

I would have read this book a lot sooner if I'd known it was about community theatre, you all. As it is, I rescued it from the discard pile at my library because it's a Newbery Honor book and gave it a perfunctory read. I love a story about a big, quirky, creative family (Hilary McKay's Casson Family series being my favorite example), and the Applewhites are that in spades. Plus, as stated earlier, books about theatre are catnip to me, so this was bound to be a hit. Even if those things aren't your specific jam, the plot, characters, and setting are bound to draw you in. Highly recommended to readers of middle grade fiction.… (mere)

3rd grader Max is very imaginative. He uses his imagination to escape from his problems (he's bullied at school, his parents have divorced, he doesn't have a dog).

One day Max imagines himself into the Wishworks, where he is promised that the wish he makes will come true in real life. Then the story turns into a version of the old story where the husband and wife get three wishes (the man wishes for a fish and the woman is mad at him so she wishes the fish on the man's nose and then they have to use their last wish to get the fish off the nose) only with a a dog.

It was a little boring for me because it was completely obvious what was going to happen, and lot of the story is taken up with Max's adventure fantasies, which do not contribute much to the story but may be enjoyable for kids who have similar fantasies (fighting dragons and stuff like that).

The black and white illustrations are very nice.… (mere)