Bella Baxter Inn Trouble [Paperback]

Jane B. Mason (Author), Sarah Hines Stephens (Author), John Shelley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Bella Baxter

Plaster Paint Wallpaper A skunk A skunk? Bella Baxter can't believe her nose. Her parents new dream inn is a disaster The place is a wreck, her mom and dad are losing their minds, and guests are arriving in a week But Bella is one smart cookie -- she knows just where to go for help. When she gets there, she finds more than she imagined. But it's going to take brains, luck, and lots of elbow grease to get the stinky Sea Inn smelling like a rose in time.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. This short chapter book, the first in a series about Bella Baxter, introduces the child, her parents, and the seaside community where they have recently moved to remodel an old house and open it as the Sea Inn. With cracked plaster walls, a leaky roof, and a skunk in the basement, things don't look bright for the Baxters' new business until "almost eight-year-old" Bella heads to the library. When she asks for assistance finding books on home repairs, she gets more than she bargained for: the helpful librarian appears at her house the next day to hang wallpaper and, later, helps Bella with flood control when the bathtub overflows. Light, fast-paced, and sometimes amusing, the story of the Baxters' tribulations is also the story of Bella's triumph in finding new friends who can help her family. Shelley's appealing drawings, many of them full-page, underscore the upbeat tone of the text. Entertaining fare for readers shifting up to chapter books. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689862806
• ISBN-13: 978-0689862809
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Shelley was born in Birmingham UK and began illustrating in London, his first picture book being shortlisted for the Mother Goose Award. From 1987 he lived in Japan, receiving awards for commercial illustration in Tokyo in addition to producing children's books for Western and Japanese publishers. He returned to the UK in 2008 and currently lives in Staffordshire.

He stands on the Board of Advisors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), is a member of the Association of Illustrators (AOI) and Society of Authors (SOA).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A good choice for a young female reader, October 25, 2007

By 

Avid Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bella Baxter Inn Trouble (Paperback)

I read this book with my 7 year old. She is reading at a middle-high second grade level and she enjoyed the book a lot. We both appreciated the humor and the clever writing, however, sometimes the the author's writing style created complicated sentences or word choices that made the reading a bit challenging for my daughter to decode. Regardless, it was a fun book with a strong young female character, Bella. Bella is a great role model-- she is an avid reader and a logical problem-solver but she is not perfect. At heart she is still a young girl who makes mistakes. A great combination of traits-- a nice new character in the world of children's literature.