The Most Horrible, Almost Planned, Birthday Party Ever
Written: Mar 16 '07 (Updated Mar 16 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: fresh character, quick pace, age-appropriate humor and a lot of it
Cons: NONE
The Bottom Line: Every boy in fourth and fifth grade will love this as well as their fathers. Remember your birthday parties, some were good and some weren't.
pestyside's Full Review: Dean Pitchford - The Big One-Oh
How do you describe a book that had you laughing non-stop through three chapters and enjoying off and on guffaws and spontaneous sniggers through the rest? The Big One-Oh will appeal to 99.9 percent of the 4th and 5th grade boys who read it, and I might add, to their parents.
Three and a half years ago Charley Maplewood went to a birthday party, the classic horror of a birthday party that included a runaway pony, shrieking kids, a smashed birthday cake, and a pony and boy covered with cake frosting. Charlie was determined to never go to another birthday party. That was three and a half years ago.
Charley is now approaching the BIG one-oh, his tenth birthday, and he’s moving from single digits to double digits and some seem to think it’s a big day. His dad, who is a chef in Scotland, remembered his birthday with a card. So, son, what are you going to do for “the big day?” Obviously this was something birthday-phobic Charley had not considered.
But now he begins to dwell on what a birthday party could be like? Who would he invite? He doesn’t have friends. His mother and her new boyfriend want him to have a party, with cowboy decorations. That is so yesterday.
Charley has a few idiosyncrasies. He likes to cook and prepares gourmet meals for his mother almost every night. She comes home from work with elegant dinners waiting. He prefers to spend his time reading monster comic books. He has no friends and doesn’t have time for them. On the night mom brings her boyfriend home for dinner Charley is wearing a hairnet and cooking dinner. Is he a freak? Charley thinks he’s normal, but apparently the boyfriend considers this abnormal behavior. The argument between mom and boyfriend pushed him into action.
Now Charley’s not really weird although his neighbor is a true freak. He has fake body parts lying around for dogs to run away with. His neighbor’s girlfriend, “Pincushion,” yells back at the house as she’s leaving him that he’s too weird, that she can’t take it anymore, that he has no friends, and that he’s a freak. The coincidence of having heard these thoughts twice in 24 hours has Charley thinking. Perhaps he should have a party and locate some friends, but how?
Charley’s neighbor turns out to have a few similar hobbies. They quickly become friends despite their age differences—he’s old enough to be his dad. Apparently he is a special effects man with a specialty in bloody body parts. As Charlie began his very structured effort to plan a party for his big “one oh” I found myself unable to put the book down. I also realized that I was disturbing my household with too much laughter. How dare you laugh out loud while reading?
With the community’s best collection of monster magazines and a neighbor who specializes in scary special effects, can you guess the birthday party theme? You might, but the events that lead up to the party are as unpredictable as the guest list.
Charlie becomes a hero and somehow he makes friends but not before forcing us through some of the most outrageous 10-year old humor and disasters possible. The author, Dean Pitchford, definitely has a future in writing boys fiction. He drew from his own experiences, as well as his innate talent for writing. He performed in Broadway (Godspell and Pippen) and wrote songs that included “Fame” and “Footloose”. Dean Pitchford must write more books. He seems to have a talent for recognizing and articulating the gross-out factor that appeals to this age group, while understanding the boundary between humorous and disgusting. He definitely knows humorous. The author is truly talented and funny and I wonder if he has ever grown up or possibly has retreated to being 10. I used to teach 5th grade and he nailed that age group.
On the day of the party a neighbor was shrieking, the fire department appeared accompanied by the police department, and the bully dirtied his pants as the pretty girls threw up. It was a classic horror birthday party and The Big One-Oh is a classic waiting to be recognized by 99.9% of the country’s 10-year old boys.
Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties-that would require friends, which he doesn t have. But now that he s turning ten-the big one-oh-he de...More at Buy.com
Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties, but now that he s turning ten--the big one-oh--he decides to throw a party for himself. And, of cour...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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