I was sent a copy of Secrets of Topsea: A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean.
I remember reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School when I was a kid and laughing at the silliness of it. A school where nothing really made sense, at least not to kids who went to “regular” schools. Yet all the bizarre occurances made complete sense to the students and teachers at Wayside. It’s a book I’ve shared with my own kids.
Reading A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean by Kir Fox and M. Shelley Coats brought back that same fun from Wayside School.
The town of Topsea makes absolutely no sense to newcower Davy(not that anyone can remember to call him by his right name). His school locker is at the impossibly deep bottom of the school swimming pool. Winning tickes at the local arcade can be dangerous instead of fun. Mermaids were real but dogs are a legend. Seawood (or a wall of chewing gum) might just attack you. The tides (and even gravity) aren’t reliable. Maybe the troll under the bridge isn’t all that bad… but the PTA president might be.
Kids will laugh at this book! It’s great for middle grades and another book I’ve read recently that boys* would enjoy. Both my 11 year old and my 9 year old are reading this book. I think I’ll pass it along to one of their teaches when they’re done so they can use it as a class read-aloud: with the different and engaging stories in each chapter, A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean perfectly lends itself to being read aloud in upper elementary school.
There’s a “1” by the title of this book, indicating that it’s just the first in the series of Secrets of Topsea and we’ll definitely look forward to reading more about this silly town. You can get the first book by clicking on my link below (affiliate):
*Girls will enjoy this book as well. But as a mom to three boys, I’m always on the lookout for books that would be of interest to them.