LARS'S LIBRARY: RECENTLY READ

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury by Dav Pilkey--Something some adults may not realize is that Dav Pilkey's phenomenally popular Captain Underpants series is not written at an easy reading level. Sometimes criticized for their bathroom humor and purposely misspelled words, the Captain Underpants books can actually be a motivator for reluctant readers to decode complex words and even deal with complex thoughts--there's much that must be inferred. For those readers for whom they are too difficult, however, Pilkey has put together the Ricky Ricotta series. Kids love them, and if you care, they veer away from the potty jokes. In fact, since each volume features a villain from a different planet, and often contains a few math puzzlers, you might even make a case that they have peripheral "educational" value beyond getting children to read. If, like me, you do like the sudversive nature of Pilkey's work, rest assured that you will still find a good dose of irreverent attitude.

Herbert's Wormhole by Peter Nelson--Borrowing liberally from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (nerdy, wiseacre protagonist, purposely primitive drawings), this "novel in cartoons" (delightfully drawn by Rohitash Rao) tells the tale of ten-year-old video-game addict Alex Filby, whose parents want to get him outside. They arrange a "playdate" with Alex's even nerdier neighbor, Herbert Slewg. Herbert, it turns out, has invented a way to time travel. The boys end up in a future world ruled by aliens who disguise their disgusting squid-like appearance with toupees and false mustaches. As you might imagine, much hilarity ensues. The final battle scene, where Alex, Herbert and Sammi, their cute and highly competent girl neighbor, team up against the aliens, is a total blast.

The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh--It's almost too bad that Harriet the Spy has made such a mark as a "classic," because each of the four novels Fitzhugh wrote during her all too brief life are quite extraordinary and ground-breaking. A sequel to Harriet, The Long Secret contains some surprising revelations about one of the characters in that first book. Written well before Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret., it presaged the same issues of pubescent rites of passage and religion. It's a fantastic book, as are Fitzhugh's other Harriet book, Sport, and the stunning Nobody's Family Ever Changes.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor--Beddor's premise--that Lewis Carroll misunderstood Alice (actually Alyss), who was trying to tell him about a parallel world gone awry--makes for an engrossing fantasy/historical novel with lots of page-turning action. The author's flippant, glib tone borders on too much, but works if you like sophomoric humor, I do. And you won't ever think of the Mad Hatter in quite the same way again.