by Troy Cummings
New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2014, Ages 8-11
The story is about a young boy named Alex who has recently moved to the small town of Stermont. He and his two friends, Rip and Nikki, are apart of the S.S.M.P- Super Secret Monster Patrol. On their way to school, they spot a trail of candy, and then Alexander trips into what he thought was a hole. Recovering from his fall, Alexander, Rip, and Nikki, realize that it is not a normal hole, but instead, the footprint, to a monster. Their town is trashed with candy, and buildings look stomped upon. It wasn't until they hear a loud vibration occur, and a loud roar that Rip saw the dinosaur. They gang tried to discover what did the candy have to do with this monster, and the finally realized that this wasn't any regular dinosaur, but a P-Rex! A pinata-saurus Rex!
The author is very descriptive throughout the book. He uses several literary devices, such as onomatopoeia, descriptive language, similes and metaphors, and personification. I believe the use of these literary devices makes the book appealing.
The primary medium for this book is pencil. It puts the reader in the mindset of reading a middle school student's notebook. The sketches aren't to scale, or realistic but more cartoon style. I believe this helps make the book engaging. My favorite illustrations in the book are the actual journal entries. When they finally discover the P-Rex, the put it in the S.S.M.P Notebook.. The entry includes a drawing of the monster, its habitat, diet, behavior, and other interesting facts about the monster.
I believe the book was very engaging. Even as a college student I was interested in trying to figure out how to get rid out that P-Rex. I believe this books falls under the higher spectrum of early childhood and the lower spectrum for middle. I could see myself having this book in my fourth grade classroom library. This book also integrates science and language arts topics. The S.S.M.P had to observe the evidence and then in detail explain what they observed. The first basic steps of a science lab report. By reading this book, I believe it could improve a students lab report writing skills. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and plan to read the other 5 books in the series.
Review by Kimyada Clanton
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