Roscoe Riley Rules Throwback Thursday!
Welcome November! The end of Daylight Savings Time is the (unofficial) start of Cuddle Up with a Book season! We thought we’d kick it off with the Roscoe Riley Rules series. Katherine Applegate’s illustrated chapter series is a perfect read aloud for mixed audiences, and laugh-out-loud practice for nearly independent readers.
We started reading this series with our 7-year old daughter as a read-aloud before bedtime. By the time book three arrived on the scene, she was devouring them without us!
Our #TBT Review selection includes four books from the series, and we welcome reviews of any of the books in the series. Add them to our linkup or in the comments!
Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs
written by Katherine Applegate
illustrated by Brian Biggs
HarperTrophy, 2008
Roscoe Riley has a lot to say, and since he’s sitting in Time-Out, he has plenty of time to say it! So here’s his story. His teacher needed more glue sticks, and Roscoe decided that since all kinds of things get broken in school, maybe he should take Mom’s Super-Mega-Gonzo glue, too. Sure enough, as everyone is getting ready for the big class performance, that Super-Mega-Gonzo glue came in handy. Roscoe wanted to make sure his class had a perfect recital and help Ms. Diz (his teacher) keep her job. So just how good IS that glue?
Reading Tub review of Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs: August 2008
Roscoe Riley Rules #2: Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear
written by Katherine Applegate
illustrated by Brian Biggs
HarperTrophy, 2008
Roscoe is right were we left him: in Time out. Against his older brother’s advice, Roscoe decided to take Hamilton, his stuffed pig, to school. But then he was pig-napped. Roscoe is convinced Wyatt, the class bully did it. But how can he be sure?
Reading Tub review of Never Swipep a Bully’s Bear: August 2008
Roscoe Riley Rules #3: Don’s Swap Your Sweater for a Dog
written by Katherine Applegate
illustrated by Brian Biggs
HarperTrophy, 2008
Sometimes, even when you tell the truth, you get sent to time out. That’s where we find Roscoe, ready to tell us the whole story about how he once again landed in the corner. When Roscoe saw the ad for a pet-trick contest, he knew it was his chance to win a trophy. It wasn’t fair. He was the only Riley who didn’t have a trophy! He was sure he could train his dog Goofy to do a trick … until he saw Martin’s dog Edward reading! With just one day to the contest, and no help from Goofy, Roscoe was desperate. So he traded the sweater his Grandma knitted him (and didn’t like) to borrow Edward so he could win. Was it worth it? Would he win?
Reading Tub review of Don’t Swap Your Sweater for a Dog: May 2009
Roscoe Riley Rules #7: Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin
written by Katherine Applegate
illustrated by Brian Biggs
HarperTrophy, 2008
Math, superstitions, a really big pumpkin, and a playful, orphaned kitten all combine to land Roscoe back in time out. Roscoe tells us that after Mr. Page the librarian reads a book about pumpkins, he told them about the Hilltop Bookstore contest: guess the weight of the pumpkin in the window and you can win books for your school library … and candy for yourself. Roscoe even listens to Miss Diz’ lessons about estimation to help him. Will it work? Or will that black cat ruin everything?
Reading Tub review of Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin: September 2009
Why a Throwback Thursday for Book Reviews?
Those of us who blog about books are a community. We read lots of books, we write lots of reviews, and we share those reviews with fellow book lovers and those in search of books for children and teens on our blogs, websites, and via social media.
We write so many reviews that, over time, they get buried by other, newer reviews. BUT! that book we read three years ago will always be new to some reader, somewhere. So why not share that review with a new audience?
Everyone is welcome! Here are the participation guidelines:
- If you reviewed the same book we’re featuring, add your permalink to the original reviews on the Reading Tub website or in the InLinkz Linkup above.
- Want to (re)share a review you posted in October 2009 but which isn’t our featured book? Add your permalink in the InLinkz Linkup or comments. [No, it doesn’t have to be a book you loved; but it does have to be a review you take a lot of pride in.]
- Add any notes about the review in the comments, please.
The spammers have been having a blast with our Throwback Thursday posts … now its your turn to take back blogging from those nuisances. Add your reviews to our InLinkz linkup above or the comments section below.
Too late for this week’s #TBT linkup for Roscoe Riley Rules?
Our InLinkz linkup is open for one week from publication date. If you didn’t find this post in time, no worries! Add your review on our review page at the Reading Tub. Just click the title of the book you’ve read to go to our Review Page.
NOTES: The Roscoe Riley Rules cover images by Katherine Applegate link to amazon.com. The Reading Tub has an affiliate relationship with Amazon. 100% of any income from this source is used for our literacy mission.