Trouble at Table Five: The Candy Caper

Trouble at Table Five: The Candy Caper
Tom Watson
HarperCollins, 2020 85 pages
Grades 2-4School Story/Realistic Fiction
Trouble at Table 5 series #1

Elementary Schooler Molly lives with OCD. She needs to eat her Froot Loops in a certain way in the morning and keep her socks organized in her drawer in a system that makes sense only to her. Luckily, Moly has parents that support her and are well aware of her condition, as well as two awesome best friends and school seat-mates, Rosie and Simon. When Molly stops at the principal's office on an errand for her teacher and sees the glass jar of Skittles, she absolutely HAS to count them. Simon and Rosie understand and help her to devise a plan to grab that jar and count the Skittles. The plan involves toilet paper, thumb tacks, flip flops, and super glue-as well as getting into trouble. Molly has never been in trouble before. Is it worth getting sent to the principal's office if it means that she can count the Skittles? Yet it is! The three friends pull off a hilarious heist, followed by satisfaction-and, finally, consequences.

Tom Watson, of Stick Dog fame, goes in a different direction for newly independent chapter book readers without losing his characteristic humor. Molly is a character to whom many kids will relate. Her impulses at times overpower common sense and often take control of her brain. Kids with OCD will appreciate seeing themselves in a chapter book. There is also a bit of an educational element to the story as the friends reason out their plan and figure out mathematically a way of estimating the contents of the jar. Readers may also identify with Molly being bi-racial, whose loving and supportive parents have different skin tones. This fresh series is part of a new line of books called HarperChapters, which I highly recommend to readers just cracking into chapter books. The print is large and easy on the eyes. Three-color cartoon illustrations, contributed by Marta Kissi are on every page and help to add to the plot and mood of the story. At the end of each chapter a bar graph shows readers their progress and encourages them to keep going. The end of the book sports a congratulatory page with some fun supplemental activities for parents and teachers. The next book in the series (released simultaneously) appears to feature table-mate Simon, who has troubles controlling his chatting. Two other series in the line include one about a unicorn named Sparkleton and a scary series titled 13th Street. Give to the audience of the Branches books or Mercy Watson.