It's the Big One! The Big One-Oh

This book by Dean Pitchford had a lot going against it. It's written by a Broadway "star" and songwriter. It has glowing comments by literary greats like Jamie Lee Curtis and John Lithgow on the front and back covers. As much as I'd like to trash this book for being part of the Famous People Who Think They Can Write Children's Books Conspiracy*, I'm afraid I'll have to admit that this is a cute book. There isn't even a huge amount of exaggeration in it, well, except that a nine year old would make "veal osso buco with shallots in a red wine reduction" ... or even be able to pronounce that. Y'all, I do know humor when it's presented. I suspect that bit (and the bit where his mom refers to it as "beef stew") was thrown in to amuse the adult readers. Other than the culinary exploits of Chef Charley, age nine, I can see all of this happening. Man, I can just hear the high-pitched squealing!
My child's heart aches for a kid with no friends. Hell, even I had friends as a child and I had to make new ones each time we moved. Charley Maplewood has to navigate the undertow of bullies, kid politics, and the unfamiliar choke-hold of puppylove, all of which Pitchford handles with humor and grace. His father is literally distant (working in another country) and unable to remember his son's correct birthdate. His mother is over-worked and has bad taste in boyfriends. And if he's going to learn about love from watching his sister in action, well, he's in for a rocky ride down the pike.
I would recommend this book for boys, because there's enough gross-out in it to appeal to them. Girls, of course, would read anything, but they'll relate to the depth of emotional development and even some, like Jennifer, Charley's unbidden admirer, will relish the ghoulish bits. I know I would think it was cool to live next door to someone who made special effects.

* I don't have anything against Curtis's books or Lithgow - but who died and made them Literary Critics? It's the Madonna and Katie Couric books that make me all frowny-faced when I shelve them, which isn't very often - ha ha ha.