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Young readers book reviews for ages 8 to 12 years old




*Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom* by Tim Byrd- young readers book review
Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom
by Tim Byrd
Ages 9-12 186 pages Putnam May 2009 Hardcover    

“Grab your backpacks! Grandpa has disappeared again.”
In the Wilde family, it’s perfectly normal for 99-year-old Grandpa to be missing, and not for the first time. Luckily, Brian and Wren Wilde and their adventurer-inventor-martial arts master dad are up to the task of rescuing Grandpa from whatever misadventure he’s wandered into this time. At least, they think they are.

Their only clue is a photograph of Grandpa Wilde standing in the gaping mouth of a frog-shaped cave. With no idea where the cave is located, the family will have to dig into Grandpa’s recent activities to determine what happened to him and how his research in to dark matter – the most mysterious stuff in the entire universe—might be involved in his disappearance.

Nothing is ever simple in the world of the Wildes. Before they can sit down to Grandma Wilde’s fabulous fried chicken and corn on the cob, they are attacked by a small army of swarming sticky-footed spy frogs. You might think that would be enough to send any kid scrambling for the safety of his own bedroom, but twelve-year-old Brian and his younger sister Wren have been trained all their lives to handle just such a situation.

You also might think that nothing could be worse than dangling from the 86th floor of a building with freaky amphibians trying to kill you, but the Wildes take that in stride, too. But if there’s one thing that every larger-than-life hero knows, it’s that there is always someone who is quicker, smarter, and more powerful than you are.

It doesn’t take the Wilde family long to determine that grotesque frogs are just the bit players in a nefarious scheme to destroy the universe. Sure, the Wildes have skills, but the bad guys in this rollicking adventure have overwhelming powers that no mere mortal can match. It’s just possible that this time the good guys aren’t going to win…

A true tale of adventure, this book takes off at break-neck speed and never slows down. Doc Wilde is a golden hero, of the type we haven’t seen since Flash Gordon (in the Buster Crabbe version) faced off with Ming the Merciless. Brian and Wren, young though they are, use their wits and their innate sense of justice to stand beside their father all the way. They’re the kind of sidekicks that comic book superheroes can only dream of finding, and they are certainly a credit to the Wilde family with its history of outlandish exploits and fair-minded pursuits.

Reading Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom is the most fun I’ve had since Adam West and Burt Ward left the Batcave for the last time!
 
Young readers book reviews for ages 8 to 12 years old

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  Deborah Adams/2009 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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