Paulsen, Gary.
MASTERS OF DISASTER
New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2010
IL 3-6, RL 6.7
ISBN 0385739974

(2 booktalks)

After reading books like  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Treasure Island, and Hatchet,   Henry Mosley tells his best friends Reed Hamner and Riley Dolen that the three of them are the most boring 12 year olds on the planet. Henry decides they need to become men of action and adventure and find out what they are made of and in the process  impress girls. A bid to set the world record for the most forward airborne somersault on a bike is the first in a series of disasters that lands Reed  in places filled with unmentionable types of goo. They venture into the wilderness and encounter escaped zoo animals, discover all retired bulls aren’t docile and learn that housedogs don’t make good sled dogs. Through each mishap Henry, Reed and Riley maintain their enthusiasm and certainly won’t be considered boring by anyone.  (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award nominee, 2011-2012)

Booktalk #2

Henry Mosley watched a documentary and decided he and his two friends Riley and Reed should have some adventures.  “I’m working to create a series of tasks that will Prove Our Manhood and show us What We’re Made Of. And if we play our cards right, we might Alter the Course of History a time or two. And, of course, Impress Girls and Get Them to Notice Us.” Henry designs the adventures, Riley records them and Reed, of course, is the one to carry out the assignments.  Their first task is to break the world’s record for the most forward airborne summersaults on a bike, and what better place to launch their attempt then from their vacationing neighbor’s roof?  How can they top this adventure?  You’ll have to read the book to discover more of their “disasters.”  (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards Program Booktalks 2012-2013)