The Parent Agency

March 1, 2016
The hazards of wish fulfillment come, as usual, home to roost when young Barry gets a chance to replace his parents with a new set. A week before his 10th birthday, Barry hits his head in a fall and wakes in Youngdon, capital of the United Kid-Dom, where grown-ups eagerly vie to be selected by onesie-wearing children. Working down a previously compiled list of grievances against his original parents, Barry opts to try out a different set each day--and so goes from the dizzyingly aristocratic Rader-Wellorffs to a celebrity couple dubbed "Vlassorina" and a succession of other couples who let him try out sports and do whatever he wants, as well as openly favoring him over younger sibs who bear strong resemblances to his own sisters. Predictably, all prove disappointments, and he wakes up at the end a wiser, more loving son. Baddiel crams his pointed allegory with jokes that not only will likely fly past American readers, but display questionable taste: Barry dubs his sisters "The Sisterly Entity" in imitation of the hostile Arabic term for Israel, a teammate's "Que pasa?" as he trots into Wobbly Stadium for a match with rival Boysnia-Herzogeweeny is dubbed "some kind of weird language," and for his birthday party at the end he's delighted to get a toy pistol. Personal development, Three Stooges style. (Fantasy. 10-12)

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April 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-Barry Bennett is not happy with his parents. In fact, he blames them for so many bad things in his life that he keeps a list hidden under his pillow. His parents are poor, boring, tired, and really, really strict. He hates that they named him Barry instead of something cool like his friends, Jake, Lukas, and Taj. On top of all that, they are always much nicer to his twin sisters than to him. But his biggest gripe is that they never make his birthday good enough. Six days before he turns 10, Barry gets grounded for having a tantrum. He fumes in his bedroom and wishes for better parents. Suddenly, he is transported to another world and finds himself at the TPA (The Parent Agency), where children get to choose their parents. The agency places him with parents each day based on the criteria from his list. But finding the best parents is harder than Barry thought. This story is a good jumping-off point for chapter book readers who want to expand into full-length novels. It is broken down into short chapters that are full of adventure. Ample black-and-white drawings throughout make this title appealing to graphic novel fans as well. VERDICT The underlying lesson about learning to appreciate what you have-and being careful what you wish for-is good discussion fodder for this age group; a solid additional purchase for middle grade collections.-Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY

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