It is the first day of
fourth grade. Finally, as a member of the oldest grade in the school, it should
be a great year for Carson, but the day is not starting out well. First, he
forgets his lunch, bully Hunter is in his class and already causing problems,
and -worst of all- he has a very noticeable stain on his pants in an
embarrassing place. Just when all seemed hopeless, Carson finds a note held by
gum to the bottom of his desk. It is from last year's fourth graders, who claim
that locker 37 is magical and its access is a special privilege for fourth
grades only. Of course Carson has to try it out and inside he finds an eraser.
An eraser? Maybe it will remove the stain from his pants. It does all, and
removes the pants right along with the stain! Luckily, his friend Riley is on
the case and finds him another pair of pants, while causing a flood, an
avalanche of cockroaches on the heads of unsuspecting second graders, and
the removal of his worst enemy, Hunter. Carson thinks they should try to
find Hunter. Riley thinks they should split the eraser between all of the
fourth graders. Riley wins out and mayhem ensues. Will Carson ever get
life at Hopewell Elementary under control again? And what happened to
Hunter?
A perfect summer read, kids will love to dive into this new series. Yes, it is silly and relies a bit on potty-humor, but it will be easily picked-up and quickly consumed. Large, cartoon illustrations with green highlights add to the appeal and are plentiful. There are two bonus math chapters that explain something that happens in the book in a playful way, yet add some STEM appeal, making it a perfect fit for classroom use. Further educational bits include the origin of the word "dumpster", which actually checks out, so even I learned something. Carson is a sweet boy who tries to do the right thing. Readers will relate to his frustration with the bully, his friend taking over the magic, and being stuck in his "Monday undies" (every kid's worst fear). Parts of the book are truly funny and the humor hits a bullseye with the target audience. Released in June, the sequel already came out this month, featuring the narration of a different classmate’s adventures with the locker. The third in the series will be released in October. Readers will fantasize about finding a magic locker in their own schools-assuming they return this fall-and dream about what they would do if they found it. A fun book with some sneaky educational merit.
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