Sir Licksalot & The Maverick Fools by D. L. Carroll

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.comby TeensReadToo

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July 10, 2009: A story with a main character named Blaze N. Haught just has to be filled with fast action and excitement, and SIR LICKSALOT & THE MAVERICK FOOLS fulfills both these expectations.

When the Haught family moves from their city condo to a beach house, Blaze goes from having lots of friends and being the most popular 5th grader to being a loner who the local kids tease and bully. Blaze's parents consent to the adoption of a stray dog, but only if Blaze will make a serious effort to becoming friends with the kids at their new home.

Blaze agrees and names his new companion Sir Licksalot.

A housewarming with a barbeque seems to be the perfect way to invite all the new neighbors and give Blaze a chance to make some new friends. With a new basketball court in his yard, Blaze challenges the boys to a basketball game, a sport in which he excels.

However, the girls and Sir Licksalot disappear into a strange water fountain in the backyard. The boys are determined to locate them, and they, too, are pulled into the fountain and find themselves immersed in a strange adventure within an extreme water cave. The boys learn each others secrets, strengths, and weaknesses as they accept the challenges of the water park to locate the missing girls and Sir Licksalot.

The black and white illustrations add visual interest, and the maps lay out the path of the maze in the extreme water cave. All ends well after the hair-raising quests in this fantasy-filled imaginative story.

Death-defying action in a fast moving plot make this book hard to put down, and it is recommended to challenge the imagination of reluctant readers.

A High Five!by Anonymous

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June 23, 2008: Blaze was the most popular kid in his fifth grade class in the city. When his family moves before the end of the school year to a beach house, he finds that it will take a lot of work to make new friends in this rural town. His first encounter with the local kids is a disaster, so he feels destined to be without friends. He encounters a stray dog and begs his parents to let him adopt it. They agree, but only if he makes a real effort to make new friends. He'd never told his parents about how the local kids treated him, so he reluctantly agrees. He names the dog Sir Licksalot since the dog slathered kisses all over Blaze every time they were together. In an effort to help their son make new friends, his parents throw a housewarming party and invite all the neighbors. Blaze steels himself since he'll be encountering the local kids again who dissed him as being 'uncool'. Blaze challenges the guys to a basketball game on his new home court, while the girls in the crowd sit on the edge of a large water fountain that Blaze considers totally 'weird' since he swears it's talked to him and Sir Licksalot is afraid to go near it. As the boys play basketball, they become aware that the girls have disappeared from the fountain, along with Sir Licksalot! You'll just have to read this book to find out what happens next as the boys search for the girls, and the amazing adventure they find themselves in! It reads like a giant computer game chock full of fun if you ask me! D.L. Carroll does a great job writing this is an adventure/mystery but also as a bridge of understanding among new and old friends and how they can become a cohesive team as they learn the secrets each shares. I especially loved this part of the book ? the developing relationship between the boys in this story. Teri Cuneo's illustrations are in black and white but very realistic. The author actually thanks Teri for 'her incredible ability to draw my imagination'. I agree! I give this book a high five for the older 'reluctant' readers ? I think they will enjoy this storyline immensely and learn the true meaning of being 'cool'. CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW BY: Gayle Jacobson-Huset ? Managing Editor Stories for Children Magazine