Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com
Ernie Banks was left on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was just three years old. Now, ten years later, he's thirteen and well on his way to spending his life running from the law.
The one thing that irks him is that he knows he used to belong to someone. See, he came to Lakeside with a baseball card, an unusual crystal acorn necklace, and a weird spiral-shaped birthmark on his right foot. Out of desperation, Ernie is sent out to a farm in the middle of Nowhere, Illinois, in hopes that he will come back as a kid with a new attitude.
Here he meets an interesting mix of people. There's Russ Frazier, the owner; Joey, the girl who lives on the neighboring farm; and then there are the Holsapples. The Holsapples are a mean bunch of money-guzzling oil hordes who are trying to buy out all the farms in order to drill for oil. The Holsapples are pretty much ruining the small town. Then there's the horrendous drought that is causing everyone to lose hope... If only there was some way that everything could be fixed.
As Ernie learns more about the people of the small town, he also finds out that Russ' son was kidnapped ten years ago and was never found. What's even weirder is that Ernie feels familiar in Russ' house. A coincidence? Maybe! When Ernie is exploring one day he finds two Puddlejumpers, small people that live beneath puddles, and learns that he is their rainmaker. It is even prophesied that he will save them from their greatest enemy, the Troggs.
Will Ernie help save the Puddlejumpers? Will he find out about himself along the way?
This was a great book! I was absorbed into the action from the very beginning. While the book is geared more for middle grade readers, I definitely think anyone would get a kick out of it. I thought that the characters, especially Ernie, were well-developed and really had a sense of being. I also liked the premise of the story. I thought it was original and cute, plus the adventure in it was great.
At the beginning of the book there is what I would describe as a mini-story within the story. It tells the origins of the Puddlejumpers and about the kidnapping of Russ' son. I thought this section may have explained too much, since I found that a lot of the events in the book following this beginning were predictable, but there were definitely still a couple of things that took me by surprise. Overall, I really liked PUDDLEJUMPERS and think it would be a great book for readers of all levels. I think this book would be especially great for reluctant readers, as it incorporates a little bit of action, adventure, fantasy, and sports!! What more could you ask for?
Ernie Banks was left on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was just three years old. Now, ten years later, he's thirteen and well on his way to spending his life running from the law.
The one thing that irks him is that he knows he used to belong to someone. See, he came to Lakeside with a baseball card, an unusual crystal acorn necklace, and a weird spiral-shaped birthmark on his right foot. Out of desperation, Ernie is sent out to a farm in the middle of Nowhere, Illinois, in hopes that he will come back as a kid with a new attitude.
Here he meets an interesting mix of people. There's Russ Frazier, the owner; Joey, the girl who lives on the neighboring farm; and then there are the Holsapples. The Holsapples are a mean bunch of money-guzzling oil hordes who are trying to buy out all the farms in order to drill for oil. The Holsapples are pretty much ruining the small town. Then there's the horrendous drought that is causing everyone to lose hope... If only there was some way that everything could be fixed.
As Ernie learns more about the people of the small town, he also finds out that Russ' son was kidnapped ten years ago and was never found. What's even weirder is that Ernie feels familiar in Russ' house. A coincidence? Maybe! When Ernie is exploring one day he finds two Puddlejumpers, small people that live beneath puddles, and learns that he is their rainmaker. It is even prophesied that he will save them from their greatest enemy, the Troggs.
Will Ernie help save the Puddlejumpers? Will he find out about himself along the way?
This was a great book! I was absorbed into the action from the very beginning. While the book is geared more for middle grade readers, I definitely think anyone would get a kick out of it. I thought that the characters, especially Ernie, were well-developed and really had a sense of being. I also liked the premise of the story. I thought it was original and cute, plus the adventure in it was great.
At the beginning of the book there is what I would describe as a mini-story within the story. It tells the origins of the Puddlejumpers and about the kidnapping of Russ' son. I thought this section may have explained too much, since I found that a lot of the events in the book following this beginning were predictable, but there were definitely still a couple of things that took me by surprise. Overall, I really liked PUDDLEJUMPERS and think it would be a great book for readers of all levels. I think this book would be especially great for reluctant readers, as it incorporates a little bit of action, adventure, fantasy, and sports!! What more could you ask for?
