Bruce HaleAnmeldelser

This is a cute tale about a shark who has to learn about self-control. This is great for 1st to 3rd grade.

Filled with potty humor and adventure, this is for Captain Underpants and The Day My But Went Psycho lovers. When young Zeke, his twin sister, and his best friend are in the real world, the story is told in words. When they fall into Underwhere (a world beneath the Earth's surface with talking cats, revolutionary midgets, and an evil UnderLord) the story is told in comics. The black and white art reminded me a little of the Powder Puff Girls. This book is just the beginning of the Underwhere chronicles, expect many more installments in the future. Recommended for those who appreciate a healthy mix of world-saving and fart jokes.

This is part chapter book, part comic. The art doesn't do much for me, but it seems sufficiently silly.

Clark the Shark gets stage fright when it's his turn to present his book report.

Shark goes to the dentist.

From Zones of Regulation Book list.

review of
Bruce Hale's The Malted Falcon
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - December 25, 2012

I recently acquired 3 bks whose titles & plots are take-offs of previously existing bks: The Malted Falcon, Captains Outrageous, & Android Karenina. This called my attn to there now being, apparently, a whole genre of such bks. Yesterday, I got a copy of The Maltese Dog - thusly adding to the collection. Fully expecting these bks to be trashily derivative I've decided to read all 4 anyway & review them b/c I'm somewhat fascinated by the genre. Most, if not all, of them are kids bks.

The Malted Falcon is targeted to readers ages 8 to 12. The novel that it's a take-off of, Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, is not only a personal favorite but, also, obviously, aimed at adults (although not in an x-rated way). Since I think that Hammett's both a great story-teller & a great prose stylist I was curious about how Hale wd handle his take-off & I have to admit that I think he did a fairly good job of keeping it both non-kid-traumatizing & still wackily in the spirit of the original - at least in terms of the wisecracks.

The Malted Falcon begins:

"I love a mystery - any kind of mystery. Like, if the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more folks happy? And, if you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, why can't you pick your friend's nose?" (p vii)

I love that as a beginning! Not only does Hale frame it as a philosophical intro to the detective mind of his hero "Chet Gecko", but he playfully stimulates the etymological thinking. He implies that many people are ignorant & ends w/ a joking question. It sets the mood for what I think the best children's bks writers do: stimulate the minds of kids w/o necessarily threatening them, making it all playful.

Hale is full of puns that kids won't necessarily get but wch will help them appreciate them all the more as they learn their meaning. A character's name is "Dot Maytricks" (dot matrix, a type of printer - later revealed to 'really' by "Lili Pad"), another's is "Bert Umber" (burnt umber, the color: ""Sounds like a colorful character.""), "Zoomin' Mayta" (Zubin Mehta, the conductor). It goes on & on.

It was interesting for me to see how a kid's bk writer adapts adult mystery material by putting it into an Elementary School context - 'peopled' by non-human critters. Of course, the violence, slight as it is, is translated into low-level bullying & the like. Hale mimics & simplifies the mystery novel patois beautifully:

"I made to slip around him. Freddie blocked my path. I sized him up.

"He would never make the Rodent Hall of Fame. Freddie's bulging eyes flanked a nose that looked like it'd blow off with a stiff sneeze. His overbite concealed a chine so weak, the nose could've beaten it up.

"Freddie's skinny body twitched like a silkworm in a light socket. He looked familiar, but if we'd met before, I'd thankfully forgotten." (p 33)

All in all, I thought this was well-done &, no, I won't be reading more Chet Gecko stories - the "ages 8 to 12" thing is NOT for me. Still, I can safely say that this is 'kid-friendly' w/o being too stupid.

Light, but it seems a potentially valid approach to dealing with that child in class who is always a bit too much for classmates. In this Clark is helped to find his own way of keeping control while around others and rewarded for both that and for being fully on when it is appropriate. I doubt the approach would have such an immediate effect IRL, but I feel it's worth trying.

Chet Gecko is once more on the case.

Caught creating one of his classroom portraits, Chet is sent to the Principal’s office by his teacher, Mr. Ratnose. Upon arrival, Chet is given a huge surprise — Mr. Zero is nice to him! This is so far out of character for Mr. Zero, that Chet is sure the cat is an imposter. Something strange is going on and Chet decides to investigate.

This is the second book of this series I’ve read and it was fun. It is geared for ages 8-12, but the style is of the detectives of the 1940s – 1950s. Think Bogart in “Maltese Falcon” only not as gritty or adult. Chet has the fedora and trench coat to show his seriousness.

By-the-way, the cast are critters: Chet – gecko, Mr. Zero – cat, Mr. Ratnose – rat and so forth. There are also illustrations sprinkled through the book to give some aid to the mental images.

Fun, light read!

Chet Gecko and his partner try to find a missing valentine and the winning ticket to a fantastic dessert. Gecko Mystery.

This review originally published at The Children's Book and Media Review

Clark the Shark is trying to get ready for his first sleepover, but he’s worried because it will be his first time sleeping outside without his glow-fish night-light. He and his friends play games until it’s time to go outside. Clark’s friends tell scary stories and Clark’s friends all start to feel a little scared. Clark realizes that all of them are a little bit afraid of the dark. Soon they all find a way to help themselves not be afraid of the dark anymore.

While the idea of telling scary stories and being too afraid to sleep has certainly been done before, the adaption to sea creatures and the return of Clark the Shark puts the idea into a new setting. As Clark has done before, he uses a rhyme to help him not be afraid of the dark that child readers of this book may be able to adopt to help them also get over their fears. While not entirely original, readers who are afraid of the dark might find comfort that a shark could have the same kinds of worries.

Review originally posted at The Children's Book and Media Review

Clark the Shark loves school, but sometimes he gets confused about some things. Sharing is one of the things that he gets confused about. He tries to share his appreciation for Benny Blowfish’s song, but Mrs. Inkydink says that he has to wait his turn when he starts dancing. He doesn’t understand why the giver has to choose to share instead of just sharing in the first place. When he wants to share his hockey skills, his team is upset that Clark didn’t let anyone else score. Finally Clark learns what sharing is, and it makes him and everyone else happy.

This book is meant to teach about sharing, but it doesn’t feel didactic. Instead, it shows how sharing sometimes can be complicated but still rewarding in a humorous way that children will be able to find relatable. The content may be useful for preschool aged readers, but it could be too long with too many words for some children to appreciate at that age. The references to “Sea Wars” might bring a smile to fans of Star Wars. This is a fun, colorful book to learn about sharing.

This book can be used to introduce classroom expectations

I thought this book was very funny and somewhat realistic. As I have a young nephew, the whole bad baby features are somewhat true. I found the book catchy and cute.

This was funny, just like Bruce Hale's other books are. If you're looking for something new to throw into your fairy tale collection, this is definitely a great choice. Very amusing.

Leave it to Bruce Hale to remake a fairy tale to make a reader chuckle. This would be so fun to read at story time. It’s a play on Sleeping beauty, but instead of falling into a sleep as a princess, she falls as a dragon with an unbelievably loud snore. It will take just the right Quince to awaken the beast. A really fun story for any age with fun and colorful illustrations.
#WinterGames2020 #TeamReadNosedReindeer +16

This book was really fun to read and I thought it was really cute. I also think a lot of young kids could relate to Clark's rowdiness and enthusiasm and could make connections to this book.

'It's Anna Angelfish's birthday, and Clark wants to find the perfect present for her to show her how he feels. But when he tries to make a big impression with his usual zip, bang, and BOOM, things don't go quite as planned.
With help from his best friend, Joey Mackerel, our favorite boisterous shark learns that when it comes to showing that you care, something thoughtful and small could be the best of all. Featuring bright, colorful artwork from Guy Francis and hilarious read-aloud text from Bruce Hale, this follow-up to Clark the Shark and Clark the Shark Dares to Share will have kids and parents everywhere taking its warm message to heart!' -- GoodReads
"Clark tries to impress his crush with his usual enthusiasm, but he discovers that being thoughtful is more important than being flashy when it comes to showing that he cares." -- Scholastic, Inc.

"Don't shed a tear, 'cause there's nothing to fear!
Clark the Shark has a loose tooth and needs to visit the dentist. But he's heard that the dentist is scarier than a box of blue whales! Uh-oh, and oh no! Can Clark find a way to stay cool when it comes to tooth trouble?
Beginning readers will be entertained and reassured by this clever, funny twist on a dentist visit in this I Can Read story featuring their favorite boisterous shark. The back matter also includes fun, bite-sized facts about shark teeth!
With colorful illustrations from Guy Francis and lively text from Bruce Hale, this Level One I Can Read is perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences." -- Annapolis Valley Regional Library

Clark is a very enthusiastic shark. He was the most enthusiastic fish in school. But sometimes, it got to be too much for his classmates and teachers. Clark tried his best to stay calm and cool. He learned how to manage his enthusiasm while still being himself. He learns “there is a time and place for everything.” Not only is this a fun story but it has some great lessons for young students. It is not discouraging students from having fun and being themselves. Instead, it teaches them to be respectful and considerate and realize that there is intact a time and place for everything.

This is great book to read while explaining class expectations at the beginning of the year! Clark learns that there is a time in a place for certain behaviors in the classroom!

This book teaches students reading it to be considerate of others peoples feelings, I believe this is an important lesson to learn at a young age because it instills empathy in the readers mind and as they learn more about it they are more likely to act considerate as they mature. Clark is a sharp who makes his fish classmates upset because he was wild and couldn't control his actions. Throughout the book, the teacher teaches Clark to "stay cool and be cool."½

Clark the shark is to big for all of his fish friends and all of his fish classmates were upset with him. He was very chaotic and couldn't control himself. He knew he needed to control himself because no one wanted to be his friend anymore. The teacher taught him to "stay cool and be cool" there is a time and place for everything. So, he did just as his teacher taught him to and it got so much better. Then a new student came who no one wanted to play with until clark the shark made best friends with the new student octopus. Clark went home to his family and then explained all the new lessons he learned in school.

I love this book because it's about an excited shark. Clark the shark loved everything like school, his teacher, and he loved playing upsy-downsy and spinna-ma-jig with his friends. Clark loved everything too much, he was loud and wild to the point where the other fish couldn't handle it. Clark's classmates couldn't play or eat lunch with him because he's overly excited. Eventually, he wonders what's wrong with everyone. Mrs. Inkydink lets him know that he plays, help, and munch too hard. Mrs. Inkydink tells him to stay cool. But it was hard for Clark to stay cool because he was too excited and he couldn't help it. Clark had an idea in his head, and he stayed cool in the class, lunch, and recess, that's when everyone loves being around Clark again. There was a new kid who made a mistake and smashed up the slide and swing. Everyone ran from him because he looks scary, however, Clark has seen where he wanted to play, so they played games. Everyone cheered for Clark for taking care of Sid the Squid. I believe the theme is love because Clark loved everything in his life. He loves school, Mrs. Inkydink, and playing with his friends. This book made me so happy because it's exciting and it has a great message which is there's a time and a place for everything. This book is cute and amazing to read to children.

Clark loved everything about school. He loved class, he loved lunch, and he loved playing with his friends, but he loved everything way too much. His teacher told him that there's a time and a place for everything so sometimes you just have to stay cool. Clark tried to stay cool, but he just couldn't help himself. He just loved everything so much. Then his teacher noticed Clark playing too hard and asked Clark what the rule was. "To stay cool," replied Clark and then Clark realized that it rhymed. After that, whenever Clark noticed he was about to get out of hand, he made up a rhyme in his head to stop himself. Clark was finally able to play and eat lunch with his fish friends without it all getting out of hand. Then one day a new kid showed up. He was just like Clark, always getting out of hand. So Clark played with him and taught him how to stay cool too.

I liked this book. It's a cute book but it also teaches kids that there's a time and a place for everything, which is something kids struggling learning.