"Night Buddies – Impostors and One Far-Out Flying Machine" by Sands Hetherington

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare by Sands Hetherington

A very interesting book.  I like the concept of the book – a story of nighttime buddies and what adventures you can have when you “don’t want to go to sleep at night.”  It is a very imaginative book – a young boy named John, a red crocodile, and a gang of iguanas.  The way the book is written is interesting in that the author has created a dialect/language for the characters in the book and this can be difficult at times to follow.  I don’t believe 2^nd or 3^rd graders could easily read this book.  It would probably be better suited for older elementary ages.  In addition, “Iguana Gang” uses language that I believe is not appropriate for younger grades.  In the book, they do quite a bit of name calling, which as a parent, I did not enjoy.  I would encourage any parent possibly interested in getting this book for their children to be sure and first read it themselves. (rev. PH)

ISBN: 978-0-9847417-2-4
Publication: February 1, 2013

Night Buddies – Impostors and One Far-Out Flying Machine by Sands Hetherington

The second book in the “Night Buddies” series does have a “ton of mischief” going on.  I really appreciated the author’s inclusion at the front of the book the note from Crosley explaining why the characters “talk” the way they do and that the words in the book are misspelled on purpose and that children shouldn’t “spell it that way at school or use it on a spellin’ test!.”  I also thought the list of “uncommon words” was very helpful as you read through the book.

The imagination of the book is great and can encourage children in their writing to be as creative as possible.  There are not limits to creativity.  Once again, however, I believe this book is more appropriate for older elementary aged children.  I encourage parents to read this book before they give it to their children and then also consider reading it along with their children so that they can discuss it.  It can open the door for great conversations on how we should and should not talk.(rev. PH)

 

Two of our staff members began reading and didn't desire to complete the books or either finished the book. Both had basically unfavorable impressions and opinions of the books. 

DISCLOSURE: We were given the opportunity to participate in the virtual blog tour for the second book in the Night Buddies series through the author's publicist on behalf of author Sands Hetherington and the Publisher, Dune Buggy Press. There was no required expectation for a favorable review.  All opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. Visit Night Buddies on Facebook.