101 Ways to Bug Your Parents [Paperback]

Lee Wardlaw (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Steve "Sneeze" Wyatt was born to invent things, and his latest gadget— the Nice Alarm, which wakes you up with a gentle tap on the shoulder—promises to make him rich and famous! All Sneeze needs to do is attend the Invention Convention, and he will be catapulted into stardom. So, when Sneeze’s convention plans are nixed by his parents, who have enrolled him in a creative writing class instead, he is appalled. For his first writing project, Sneeze starts a list of ways to bug his parents. It keeps growing until he hits upon a brilliant plan—a plan that will enable him to attend the convention with or without his parents. . . .

An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists" A Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year Winner of the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children’s Book Award Winner of the Florida Sunshine State Young Reader Award

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?Twelve-year-old Steve Wyatt, a.k.a. Sneeze, won't be attending the Invention Convention this summer due to a money shortage at home. To make matters worse, his parents have signed him up for a summer school class with the hokey name Recipe for a Book: A Class for Young Authors. A money-making scheme presents itself in the form of a book proposal, 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, Sneeze's revenge for his ruined summer. Everyone in school wants a copy and is willing to pay. Three-dimensional characters in the form of the narrator's best friend, Hiccup; his nemesis, Goldie Laux; and the mysterious, cool Ace populate this fast, fun read. Sneeze grows in awareness and acceptance of himself and others. The humor and depth of the characters are reminiscent of Louis Sachar's There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (Knopf, 1987). Readers will hope for further adventures with Sneeze and his friends.?Lisa Von Drasek, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-6. How many ways can you think of to bug your parents? If you are Sneeze Wyatt, at least 101, since you see them as your collateral to fame, fortune, and the San Francisco Invention Conference. Forced to take a summer school course called "Recipe for a Book: A Class for Young Writers," Sneeze finds the class clamoring for his parent-tested ideas, which he compiles into a book in spite of his teacher's reservations. Wardlaw has written a funny story with more substance than is evident initially. The death of a parent, job insecurity, gifted children, teacher respect, true friendship, and even intellectual freedom all find play here. Although adults may find Sneeze's suggestions predictable and overdone--after all, we've weighed in on both sides of this issue--children will probably continue to turn the pages just to see whether they've overlooked even one idea. Frances Bradburn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142403407
• ISBN-13: 978-0142403402
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #256,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Stepfamilies

More About the Author

101 Ways to Bug Children's Book Author Lee Wardlaw:

#1. Ask her how many children's books she writes a day

#2. Ask her when she'll grow up and write 'real' books (meaning books for grown-ups)

#3. Tell her you'd write children's books too - if you had time.

Lee Wardlaw makes time: She's the author of numerous books for young readers, including the award-winning novels 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher and 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents.

But where does Lee get the ideas for so many books?

"From my own life," Lee says. "Corey's Fire is based on my family's experiences after our house and neighborhood were destroyed in a California wildfire. Dinosaur Pizza was inspired by my childhood love of bologna/mustard/potato-chip sandwiches. I wrote the folk tale picture book Punia and the King of Sharks because I admire Hawaii's rich history of hula storytelling. And my years of experience as a daughter, student, parent and classroom teacher gave me loads of creative material for my 'Bugging' series!"

Lee grew up in Santa Barbara, CA, where she attended Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High school. She graduated with honors from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in education, and taught elementary school for five years before deciding to write full-time. Lee has 30+ years experience presenting lively and interactive writing programs in grades K through 8th. Since 1988, Lee has also taught a variety of workshops and classes for educators, librarians, parents and aspiring writers. For several years, she was the 'Ask the Children's Book Author' columnist for Inklings, an online magazine.

Lee's books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, Children's Book Council, National Council of the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, Bank Street College of Education, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She has also won 7 state reader's choice awards. Lee is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and belongs to the Author's Guild, California Reading Association, Children's Literature Council of Southern California and, yes, even the Cat Writers' Association. Upcoming releases include: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Holt, 2010), 101 Ways to Bug Your Friends & Enemies (Dial, 2011) and Red, White & Boom! (Holt, 2011).

Lee is currently enrolled in Loyola College of Maryland and the Montessori Institute of San Diego, working on her master's degree in Education. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her husband, teenage son, and three (ornery) cats.

To learn more about Lee, her books & workshops, and 98 other ways to bug her, visit her website at www.leewardlaw.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 101 Ways To Bug your Parents!!!!!-Wonderful,full of suprises, April 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents (Paperback)

This book is about a boy who just has so many ideas and just cant use lots of them until one day one invention comes along that changes his life................. For your information Im not a grownup Im 10 years old.I recomend this to high level readers.This is a great book for ages 9-13.READ IT!!! :0)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For Kids, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents (Paperback)

This is a great book. My third grade teacher read it to me andI'd love to read it again! It's a wonderful book for anybody!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kid Tested, Mother NOT approved!, May 18, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents (Paperback)

Steve may fail summer school, people think his parents should be arrested, his teacher may be fired, and the whole grade is mad at him.

And all he did was complete his project for summer school!

Steve needed money to go to the INVENTION CONVENTION (Boy, did he WANT to go!) He loved to make inventions. He was assigned a project in summer school. It was to write a book. First he was going to write a biography about his favorite inventor. Then his friend HICCUP, the hypochondriac, said "Why not write a book you can SELL to get money for the INVENTION CONVENTION?" So, they thought of a title that the students would want to buy. When they start to write and sell the book, all the funny things start to happen.

This book has a lot fun situations and many funny characters. You get to know the different characters and you will like them. There are some jokes, too! And, of course, you will like the list at the end of the book called "101 WAYS TO BUG YOUR PARENTS."

So, what happened to Steve? Did he actually get to the INVENTION CONVENTION? You will have to read this very funny book to find out.

*****Mommy's note: With the very clever characterizations, and the one-line humor, even parents who like to "preview" their children's literature for appropriateness will enjoy this one! In the guise of a madcap situation, and a child-centered story, the main characters learn about responsibility, compassion, and friendship.