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The Gollywhopper Games
- By Jody Feldman
- Genre: Mystery
Common Sense Media says
Suspenseful, high-stakes contest of puzzles.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there is nothing to be concerned about here. Some characters cheat, but are caught, and the main character is honest, even when offered bribes.
What's the story?
Ten children are picked out of thousands to compete in the Gollywhopper Games, a contest sponsored by a toy company, with fabulous prizes to win. But Gil has more at stake -- the year before, his father, who worked for the company, was fired and arrested, falsely accused of embezzlement. Though acquitted, he and his family are still treated like criminals, and Gil wants to get enough money for them to move out of town. But the president of the company wants to bribe him to drop out, some of the other contestants are cheating, and one of them might have information about the real criminal.
Is it any good?
Start with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Make Charlie a little more dynamic, and add a backstory wherein he is trying to exonerate his father. Lose the silly humor, keep the magical factory, but change the tour to a series of puzzles and games, and you're getting close to the idea of THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES, which the author says was inspired by a boy who loved Dahl's classic book and wanted something else like it.
OK, it's not really much like it, but the result is exciting and suspenseful, with puzzles that are just challenging enough, and characters to root for who are appealing, if not very fleshed out. Bright middle-graders will enjoy it, including pausing to figure out the riddles before the characters do, and may get interested in solving more word puzzles and playing word games afterwards. Good fun.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the games and puzzles. Do you like word games? Were you able to solve any of them yourself? How did you do it?
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AGE
This book was amazing! A new modern day vewrsion of Charlie and the Chocalate Factory!!
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Kid, 12 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
A great story!
I loved it! A boy enters some games so he can get money to move. This story has some puzzles in it and one at the end. A must read for both boys and girls!
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AGE
A Great Read
I read this book with my nine year old daughter and we both loved it! We laughed we cried we cheered for the good guys! My daughters’ reading level is end of fourth grade but she struggled somewhat with the concept of corporate crime in the beginning so I started reading with her and we couldn't put it down. We hope they make it into a movie; it's a great adventure and full of amazing vocabulary and imagination.
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Kid, 12 years old
September 19, 2010
AGE
IN MY TOP FIVE FAVORITES
The Gollywhopper Games is one of the best books I have ever read in the genre of mystery. I would put it in my top five books EVER! It is fast paced, exciting, and you never know what will happen to Gil. It is by far my favorite Sunshine State book for 2010! The best part, in my opinion, is when the Golly officials disqualify Rocky for cheating by his dad giving him signals like coughing or moving his hands like in baseball. I also like the part when the Golly president, Bert Golliwop Jr, had fired Gil’s dad, Charles Goodson, for sending himself $25,000 through a computer (even though he was found not guilty),but then he gave Mr. Goodson his job back as vice president because they found out that Rocky’s dad really did it. The moral of this story is cheaters never win, or honesty is ALWAYS the BEST policy.
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AGE
Fun, creative book for the whole family
I read this book aloud to my then 8 yr old and 6 yr old. My son would have been fine to read this on his own; my daughter (the 6 year old) benefited from me reading it to her. Fabulously fun and creative. There are lots of riddles that my son enjoyed trying to solve on his own. There is a definite good vs bad element to this story and it was fun to root for the good guy.
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Kid, 10 years old
May 10, 2012
AGE
good
this book is very good for older kids but might be too violent for little kids gil is one of the best role models because even though his father was in jail he still wants to win from the place where he was aressted (golly toy and game company.) Even though some of the kids cheat it is all good in the end
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| Author: | Jody Feldman |
| Illustrator: | Victoria Jamieson |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Publisher: | Greenwillow Books |
| Publication date: | March 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 308 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 10 - 14 |
| Read aloud: | 9 |
| Read alone: | 10 |
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