Book Review: Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix by Graham Salisbury

Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix
by Graham Salisbury
Calvin Coconut

Wendy Lamb Books
ISBN-10: 0-385-73702-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-73702-9
Publication Date: September, 2009
List Price: $12.99

Review: Mischievous, fun, funny, and Zippy, these are all words that describe Calvin Coconut-The Zippy Fix. Calvin Coconut is a nine-year-old boy who has a problem. A teenage girl lives with he and hates her. Be prepared for everyday adventure with Calvin and his friends, Julio, Maya, and Willy. Author Graham Salisbury and illustrator Jacquline Rogers did a great job in writing this book. It is a first in the Calvin Coconut series.

When Calvin Coconut’s mom says yes to letting a teenage girl stay at their house, Calvin is mad at her. Too make things worse Stella (the teenage girl) has something against him- He said she looked like a watermelon in a pretty, green dress. She calls him Stump, because when he walks down in his brown PJ’s that is what she says he looks like. Calvin gets so mad that he brings a cat into Stella’s room to make her sneeze (she’s allergic to cats), but something goes terribly wrong. Stella walks out of her room with a puffed face: hives. What gets her really worked up is she has a date with her boyfriend that night. Calvin feels guilty, so guilty that he even considers confessing. At the dinner table Calvin’s mom asks Calvin if there was any way that a cat might have gotten into the house. He says no, but the “crummy feeling” won’t go away. When Calvin finds out that Stella’s birthday is on Monday (it’s Saturday) he want to get her, her idols’ CD, but it’s 18 dollars. What will he do? Will Calvin get Stella the perfect present, or will he fail?

Overall I thought that Calvin Coconut-The Zippy Fix was a good book. I will start with the good points. First of all, the story line is fun, and realistic. The author does a good job of making Calvin’s voice come out. For example, in the story it says: “The Crummy feeling still wouldn’t go away.” Also, if a teacher could easily use this as a read aloud, first because it is appropriate, and second of all her students could use strategies while their reading. For example at the end of chapter 17 it shows that a teacher could use this for practicing predicting. While Calvin Coconut-The Zippy Fix was appropriate, some of it was questionable for a younger age group. For example, the author makes Stella a very vicious character in the beginning, and one of Tito’s (Calvin’s arch enemy) friends is named Bozo, which could be offensive. Overall I thought that Calvin Coconut-The Zippy Fix was a decent book, and I rate this book 3 of 5 stars.

Review written by Kayley (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix for this review.

Have you read Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix? How would you rate it?