My boss loaned me this book yesterday and it's a hoot. It's the only one of these books I've ever read. My understanding of the basic premise of this book is that the young lads are given a magic book. But being boys they don't bother to read the directions for how to use it. They just use it and end up being transported through space and time.
In this story they boys are about to begin summer vacation when one of them accidentally slips the entire school's summer reading list into the magic book. At that point all heck breaks loose. There are characters from many different stories (appropriate for Kindergarten through 8th grade) turning up in Hoboken. It's a hoot.
The author started this series of books because he wanted to provide easy-reading fiction that would appeal to younger boys. As a teacher he was dismayed by the lack of fiction for young boys. So he decided to do something about it. I don't know if he succeeded with that since I have never been a boy but it is a fun read and I'm going to have to get the rest of these books to read them.
My Rating: 3/5