Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman

This story is not a personal favorite of mine, but it has its appeal.

We are treated to a cane toad’s point of view. Cane toads are rather ugly, warty, poisonous toads from Australia. And my feeling of repulsion toward them is, apparently, echoed by many Australians….

Which is why our toad-friend in this book ends up on a long journey, traveling to the Olympic Games in Sydney where he plans to convince humans to make him a mascot and thus build friendship where currently only human disgust for the cane toad dominates.

Good luck with that. Especially when toads don’t speak or croak anything recognizably English.

Sure enough, he has a lot of luck. And he needs it time and again as he encounters one human after another along with other predators intent on his demise. This toad is full of Christian charity, however, and never a shred of bitterness interferes with his quest.

If squashed toads, insect-dinners, and warty skin don’t bother you, you’ll probably grin your way through this light-hearted toad story.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Vatican Flags

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Skinnybones by Barbara Parks

Here is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid in novel form... This boy's name is Alex, a reluctant baseball player and the runt of his team. In order to make up for his small stature, he has developed an extra-large mouth. Fortunately, he has a brain and the wit to back it up.

T.J. Stoner, the class baseball hero, is one who is not amused by Alex's verbosity. In fact, they become enemies, and poor Alex has one of the worst experiences of his young life when his baseball team (which has never won a game) goes up against Alex's undefeated team. Alex's humiliation will be filmed by local TV.

It all ends up well for Alex when his snarkiness unexpectedly saves the day in a way he never intended.

I'd like to give it a 3 Flag rating, but there's one cra_, a but_, and Alex's is a bit too cavalier about lying to his mom and about his friend cheating off of him in math. At least, his mom is on the ball and will punish him, even staying a step ahead of Alex with her clever parenting skills. His dad is no push-over, either, and Alex would be a handful for less capable parents...

Safety Rating: 2 Flags, High-readability.

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