Friday 15 September 2023

Bugs Potter Live at Nickaninny - Gordon Korman - Bugs Potter Book 2

Bugs Potter Live at Nickaninny
Bugs Potter Book 2
Gordon Korman
ISBN 9780590712255


This book is one of the few of the 103 volumes from Gordon Korman that I have found looks to be currently out of print, as is the first volume in this series “Who is Bugs Potter?”. I believe it was originally published in 1983, and there appears to have been six editions between then and 1991. Mid Last year, in the summer of 2022, Korman published his 100th book. Yes you read that correctly, his hundredth book. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read over 30 of his books. Barely a drop in the buck, but with each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. My son often reads these books to me or with me. This was one I picked up this to read on my summer vacation. 

My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together a few years ago, when he was given one as an end of year gift by his teacher. She gave the whole class the same Scholastic edition and wrote a note to each student in their copy of the book. Prior to that I had a read a few of his contributions to the 39 Clues series and had enjoyed them. My son and I have mostly been reading his more recent titles. I have started going back and am randomly reading his older works and series. I believe there are only 2 books in the Bugs Potter series, they are: 

Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny

The description of this volume is:

“Camping with his parents in the Ontario wilderness, Bugs pursues his interest in rock and roll music by smuggling in a tape deck and making a set of drums out of a fellow camper's designer jeans.”

The back cover of the edition I tracked down states:

“What do you do if you’re stuck with your family on a two-week camping trip with no drums to play, no radio and no rock concerts?

If you’re Bugs Potter, teenage rock sensation, you smuggle a tape deck and chocolate bars into your backpack. Then you find a secret cave and start building a set of drums. But even Bugs doesn’t know what to do when he meets a member of a lost Indian tribe. Stranger than that, hundreds of weird people start arriving at the campsite and all kinds of things start to disappear. Hod Bugs solves the mystery and finds an audience and a rock group to play with makes a hilarious sequel to ‘Who is bugs Potter?’

“Bugs has a nifty way of slipping through the fingers of autocratic adults … The crazy adventure unfolds as a gallop.” Said Books in Review of Who is Bugs Potter? And this sequel delivers yet more fun!”

And that is what happens again this time. Bugs has a crazy adventure. One young readers will love, especially reluctant readers. This story is pack full of fun and humour. The secret chain of information passed by cafeteria staff at museums and science departments is hilarious. What Bugs and his friends get up to is just riotous fun. It is a pity there was never a third volume because the story ends with a few key opportunities. Bugs Potter in New York, and Bugs Potter Strikes Again come immediately to mind as possibilities.

The chapters in this book are:

Back to Nature
No People?
Primitive Drums
Soaring Eagle, Son of Chief
Our New Neighbour
The Naka-mee-chee Prowler
Radio Silence
An Invitation to Dinner
The Purple Polka-dot Banner
Gone Fishing
What You Can Find In The Woods
Mikes From Heaven
Live Via Satellite
Back To Civilization

The story in this one is out there compared to many of Korman’s offerings. It takes the Bruno and Boots antics to a whole new level! The pace is break neck, the characters humorous and yet endearing, Bugs, Gus aka Soaring Eagle, Roger the forest ranger, and even Mrs. Vedda. 

This is a story that young readers will love! And no scientist, journalist or even anthropologists were hurt during the writing or reading of this story. Another great read from Korman’s masterful pen! 

Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
The Wizzle War (1982)
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:
Now You See Them, Now You Don't (2005)
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Son of Interflux (1986)
Radio 5th Grade (1989)
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)
Mixed Up (2023)
Slugfest (2024)
Faker (2024)







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