Monday 18 July 2016

The Janitor's Boy - Andrew Clements


The Janitor's Boy
Andrew Clements

Mark Elliott (Illustrator)
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
A Division of Simon and Schuster

ISBN 9780689835858
ASIN B0070Z7TNO

I am very thankful that I discovered Andrew Clement's books this year. They are great for reading with my children. The stories are so entertaining that I really enjoy then. And each of them that I have read so far have amazing lessons. The message in this book is deeper than some of the others that I have read by Clements. 

Jack Rankins hates that his dad is the janitor at his school. SO he has a plan, a plan to make a horrendous mess for his father to need to clean up. But his plan for the prefect crime did not take into account the detective skills of Mr. Ackerby. Soon Jack has 3 weeks of punishment cleaning first his original target, and then what ever the head custodian wants him to clean. Jack reports to his father for duty.

But being in school after hours has some interesting benefits. Jack finds a key cabinet, discovers some secrets and learns a lot. He learns about who he really is, he learns about who his father is and some of the stuff he has been through. And he grows a lot. 

One of the best things about Clement's books is that they teach incredible lessons but in in a big showy way. The lessons are subtle, and the stories very realistic. These down to earth books a great for the whole family, currently in our house from ages 5-45 all enjoy these reads. This is one of the best in-between book I have ever read. It is not early readers and it is not yet young adult. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

Books by Andrew Clements:
Bird Adalbert
Noah and the Ark and the Animals
Santa's Secret Helper
Temple Cat
Mother Earth's Counting Book
Billy and the Bad Teacher
Who Owns the Cow
Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers
Frindle 
(Adapter)Philipp's Birthday Book
Riff's BeBop Book
Real Monsters Go for the Mold
Things That Go EEK on Halloween
Real Monsters Stage Fright
Music Time, Any Time
Double Trouble in Walla Walla
Workshop
Gromble's Haunted Halloween
Hey Dad, Could I Borrow Your Hammer
The Landry News
Look Who's in the Thanksgiving Play
The Mouse Family
The Janitor's Boy
Circus Family Dog
The Christmas Kitten
The School Story
Things Not Seen 
The Jacket 
A Week in the Woods
Slippers at Home
Naptime for Slippers
The Report Card
The Last Holiday Concert
Slippers at School
Slippers Loves to Run
A Million Is a Lot of Dots
Lunch Money
Things Hoped For
Room One: A Mystery or Two
No Talking
Things That Are
Lost and Found
Extra Credit
Troublemaker
About Average
The Map Trap
The Friendship War
The Losers Club
...

Pets to the Rescue Series
Ringo Saves the Day!
Brave Norman
Tara and Tiree, Fearless Friends
Delores and the Big Fire

Jake Drake Series
Jake Drake Know-It-All
Jake Drake, Bully Buster
Jake Drake, Teacher's Pet
Jake Drake, Class Clown

Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School Series
We the Children
Fear Itself
The Whites of Their Eyes
In Harm's Way
We Hold These Truths

Reading program Books
Karen's Island
Three Wishes for Buster
Bill Picket: An American Original, Texas Style
Hurricane Andrew
Ham and Eggs for Jack
Life in the Desert
Desert Treasure
Inventors: Making Things Better, Steck-Vaughn
Milo's Great Invention


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