A Couple of April Fools by Gregory Maquire

Buy it Now!

A Couple of April Fools (Hamlet Chronicles)

"A Couple of April Fools" is the next to the last book in the Hamlet Chronicles. I actually read the last book, "One Final Firecracker" first, so click on the title to read my review on that if your interested. I'm sad that this is my last book to read in this series, because I've really enjoyed reading it!

In "A Couple of April Fools," we join our friends as they sneak up on April Fools day. Miss Earth is distracted, and the Thekla is trying hard to figure out if Miss Earth and Mayor Grass are actually engaged, and that's why Miss Earth's so distracted. The rest of the students are debating the wisdom of playing tricks on each other this year.

Unfortunately, the trick that girls decide to pull on the boys turns a little bit nasty, and then Miss Earth disappears! This throws the whole town into an uproar. Speculation abounds. Where could she have gone? Did she run away with someone other than Mayor Earth? Did Mayor Earth hurt his hand losing his temper at Miss Earth? Did some other foul play befall her? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Three Rotten Eggs by Gregory Maquire

Buy it Now!

Three Rotten Eggs (Hamlet Chronicles)

"Three Rotten Eggs" is book three in the "Hamlet Chronicles" by Gregory Maquire. In this book we have a new boy joining the class - and his name is Thud. Well, that's his nickname at least, and it's a name that should give you a clue as to his personality. Thud is a bully at heart that has been kicked out of many, many schools. He's a compulsive liar, and many of the things he says shock our friends of Miss Earth's class room.

It's Spring time - and the kids of the town are all participating in a fund raising egg hunt. Unfortunately, things quickly turn south for Miss Earth's class and pettiness and lying ruin the competition. Then some of the students discover some eggs, some interesting eggs, and they manage to hatch them. What hatches are not, quite, chickens, but they sure are lovable!

Thud's lying ways spread to the rest of the class, and things get a little ugly. However, the kids learn a valuable lesson through all of this. And, eventually, Thud begins to learn to interact as a regular member of the class. It's a great read!

Four Stupid Cupids by Gregory Maquire

Buy it Now!

Four Stupid Cupids (Hamlet Chronicles)

"Four Stupid Cupids" is book four in the "Hamlet Chronicles" by Gregory Maquire. Our school friends are rapidly approaching Valentines day, and it has struck fear in the hearts of many of them! After all, in 5th grade, who wants to be thought to be in love? On top of that, their beloved teacher is moping around because the day of love reminds her of the death of her beloved. 

Then Fawn Petros receives an amphora from her Greek Aunt, and it turns out to contain some baby cupids! The girls immediately realize this could be just what they need to cheer up their dear Miss Earth, so they set off to help her fall in love, with hysterical results! The boys even get in on the action, because of course all the students love their dear teacher!

Along the way the kids will learn some valuable lessons about what love truly is, and how much power words can have. I've been really enjoying this series, but I think this was one of the cuter one's so far! 

Five Alien Elves by Gregory Maquire

Buy it Now! 

Five Alien Elves (Hamlet Chronicles)

"Five Alien Elves" is  book 3 in the Hamlet Chronicles by Gregory Maquire. Once again, I love the intro to the book so I'm going to quote it to you!

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and you know the rest. The stockings were hung by the chimneys with care and, in one house, Superglue. The youngest kids were already in bed. Many adults were saying, 'If you don't go to sleep, Santa Clause is never going to come!

Something was coming. But it wasn't Santa Claus."

No, instead of Santa Claus there are some kooky aliens from Fixipuddle crash landing near the town of Hamlet! These aliens manage to get everything completely confused, they kidnap Mayor Grass thinking that he's Santa Claus, and therefore an evil overlord. It takes all the kids, Miss Earth, Grandma Earth, and Reebok the dog to save him!

Six Haunted Hairdos by Gregory Maquire

"Six Haunted Hairdos" is book two in the Hamlet Chronicles. In this book we rejoin Miss Earth's class as they go on yet more wild adventures! This time the two clubs in the class are debating over the existance of ghosts. 

The boys say that ghosts are real, and know just what to do when they see one! "1. Pinch yourself to make sure your awake. 2. Pinch the ghost, to make sure it's real. 3. Run away - as fast as you can!"

The girls think the boys are just plain silly, so they decide to play a trick on them and dress up as ghosts. They find some crazy old wigs and start a rumor about 6 hairdressers that were supposedly killed in the area. Then they set out to scare the boys! 

This time, however, the boys are right and there really ARE ghosts visiting their small town! It will take all the kids working together to solve the plight of these ghosts in a hilarious adventure that will keep you laughing the whole way through.

Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire

"Seven Spiders Spinning" is book one in the "Hamlet Chronicles" by Gregory Maquire. In this book we are introduced to Miss Earth and her class room of entertaining students. Each student is portrayed as their own individual, with their own quirks, and their own preferences. It can be hard to keep a large cast of characters individualized and portray them well, but Maquire rises to the challenge magnificently! 

I love the way the books starts, so I'm going to give you an excerpt.

"Countless thousands of years ago, give or take a couple of days, a mama spider laid some eggs. She admired them and she rested a little. Then she killed the papa spider, to whom she wasn't deeply attached, and sat down to a satisfying meal. This was not a Great Evil. It was in her spider genes. She couldn't help it."

The story goes on to tell us that later that day the Ice Age started, and all the little spider babies we're trapped in a block of ice. We follow their frozen adventures as the block of ice goes from one place to the next, until they finally are revived thousands of years later in Hamlet. What follows is a story of hilarious suspense as the spiders seek to survive, and they are faced with a class room of students who manage to accidently kill them off one by one!

One Final Firecracker by Gregory Maquire

Once again I've done it - I read things out of order! It all started because I was curious about the book "Wicked" by Gegory Maquire. It had a long waiting list at the library, so I ordered a few other books from him. I really need to remember to look up bibiliography's when I'm ordering books so I don't do things like read the last book in the series! Which, of course, is what I did. "One Final Firecracker" is the last book in the Hamlet Chronicles. A series for children - I'm guessing between 3rd and 5th grade. The proper order of the series is:

Seven Spiders Spinning

Six Haunted Hairdos

Five Alien Elves

Four Stupid Cupids

Three Rotten Eggs

A Couple of April Fools

One Final Firecracker

The series is about a a group of classmates in Elementary school. I think, from reading the last book, that the series spans one or maybe two years of their grade school life. In "One Final Firecracker" the students are getting ready for their Elementary School Graduation day. Along the way a lot of crazy things happen. I don't want to give away too much about this book or the series, but there are extreme spiders, aliens, and genetic mutants! 

This is the type of book I'd let my own elementary school child read. It's a great way to get them thinking about all the wonder and silliness in the world, and a great laugh! I do not, however, recommend reading the last book first like I did, because it ties together the threads from all the rest of the books! Easy enough to follow, but kinda ruins the surprises of the first books.