Customer Reviews

Crown Me!

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I LOVED the book! I picked up the book because it looked good and it WAS good. It was funny and serious at the same time. It was funny because of what happened with the characters. The fifth grade class really got into the idea that Justin and Andrea were King and Queen. It was serious because Justin really finds out what it is like to be a leader.
Buy it! It's the best book I ever read!

Justin is a confident, smart, and ambitious 5th grader with great political aspirations. When he and his academic rival are selected to be the king and queen for a class history project, the royal couple's delusions of grandeur threaten both of their campaigns for class president.

Kathryn Lay's delightful middle-grade novel is quite funny, with a charming mix of characters who aren't always what they seem. Cleverly titled chapters add to the fun.

Laughter will make you want to read this wonderful middle-grade reader again and again. Who among us would not have enjoyed being King or Queen of our fifth grade class, where we would have been "in charge" of our fifth grade subjects? Andrea Carey and Justin Davies think it would be the coolest thing to rule their subjects and they set their caps to become 'royal,' while they take part in a special history class project. The outrageous and hilarious antics of these two adorable characters makes this book a must read for anyone who enjoys a story, with strong characters and an engaging plot, one that will make you realize that running for an office, even if its in the fifth grade, is not for sissies. Crown Me is great fun!

Crwon Me is a funny and insightful novel about a kooky kid and even kookier classmates. It had me in stitches. Kids will love this!

Children's books beg for the gifts of vivid imagination and delightful reading. Kathryn Lay's book, CROWN ME!, has both of these gifts and more. When immersed in the life of Justin, a 5th grade political hopeful, young readers will be entertained while inadvertently learning about attitudes, dealing with others, & politics. Ms. Lay's story, written in 1st person, is presented in a suspenseful and entertaining manner. I congratulate her on a great idea and wish I'd thought of it first.

Jason and Andrea become the rulers of their fifth grade history project and the story turns into a wild and wacky journey as the two compete for president of their student council. Jason's knight, Willie, is hilarious and Andrea is a strong rival in the race for votes. With phrases like Queen-Of-Kiss-Up and hyper puppies ... promises flying and fun, these two ride popularity's ups and downs, and the student body votes for...

This fast-paced comedy creates the ultimate school dream of being King or Queen over the Fifth Grade Class. Middle readers will enjoy the joust on a bike, a knight in shining (uh, trash can) armor, the hilarious court jesters and many zany word plays and scenes. The book is broken into tight, quick-read chapters. A kid-pleasing book for those reluctant readers, but also with a crowning touch at the end--what DOES make a great leader? Quite appropriate for this election year!

I love middle grade fiction with a dash of fun and this one certainly delivers. It's nice to see a main character in a kid's book who isn't the typical shy outsider trying to break in -- instead Justin is the kid everyone knows right from the first page. He has big political aspirations and more than a few plans. As he learns what a kid -- even a fifth-grade king -- can and cannot do for his class, we get to laugh along and cheer him on. From the world's weirdest joust to a truly rowdy revolution, this book delivers. I enjoyed every bit.

I know that I am just a lowly Amazon.com reviewer and that the things I write make little to no impact on the wider world around me. Even so, I feel hesitant to read and review a children's book when I learn that it is some perfectly nice author's very first novel. They must be so proud. To have put all that effort into a title. To watch it grow beneath your fingers and become something new and different. To have it molded and shaped by a variety of editors, friends, and advisors. To have it published by a big ole publisher like Holiday House. Then, finally, to watch it ripped into tiny shreds at the hands of some two-bit Amazon.com reviewer who probably wouldn't know the next great kid's book if it came up and bit them on the ... well, you get the idea. After reading the first half of "Crown Me!", these were my thoughts. I found myself worrying. How was I going to write a review of this book when it so obviously still needed work? To my utter relief, however, the second half of the story more than made up for the first. So while this is not the best children's book of 2004, and while the author probably has a ways to go before she can be said to be the next great voice in kiddie lit, there's promise here. Real promise.

Some kids want run for President when they grow up. Then there's Justin Davies. He doesn't want to just run for President. He wants to BE President. And now, thanks to his history teacher Mr. Bailey, he has a chance to be the next best thing. King. When Justin and his rival Andrea Carey are pronounced King and Queen for two weeks, they're both delighted. Sure Mr. Bailey keeps saying that this'll teach some kind of a lesson to them all, but all Justin can think is that this is the perfect way to get the attention he needs for an eventual run as fifth-grade student council president. Problem is, being a king isn't all it's cracked up to be. His friends keep getting mad at him when he won't favor them, he keeps making impossible promises that he can't keep, and now the school bully, Badger, is challenging him to a joust. It ain't easy being king, but somebody's gotta do it. Justin just needs to learn how.

When I first began reading, I felt I recognized the author's voice in this book. It sounded oddly familiar. After a couple more pages, I realized that lay is a dead ringer for Bruce Hale (author of the oh-so popular "Chet Gecko" series for younger folks). Take out a couple of Gecko's bad puns (and give them all to "Crown Me!"'s bully villain) and you've got a mighty similar writer on your hands. Lay is a bit too prone towards putting bad or corny jokes in the mouths of her characters. The bully spouts overused phrases like, "I'm going to punch you into next week" and "I'd be just as happy to squash two wimps for the price of one". When you begin the book, things like this are particularly prominent. Justin, our hero, is not especially likable and his friends are even less so. It's mighty difficult to believe that he would still want to be friends with them when they repeatedly betray him, get mad at truly tiny slights, and cowardly abandon him at the worst times. The first few chapters of the book were so depressing, in fact, that I had to make myself keep reading.

Then it got better. Once Lay's really into the story, the writing becomes crisper and the satire sharper. By the time Justin's campaign for fifth-grade presidency is in full swing, Lay somehow manages to give the book the thrill of an actual election. Kids reading this book will honestly be on the edges of their seats as they wait to hear the final verdict. I also loved the character of Willie, Justin's unwanted knight errant and remarkably adept campaign manager. Any scene in which a kid shows his love of presidential advisors by keeping a picture of Orville Freeman (Kennedy's secretary of agriculture) on his desk has my instant love. There are still loose ends left dangling by the story's close (we never learn what happens to the ficus that Justin and his dad continually forget to water) but these are small enough that they shouldn't distract from what ends up being a truly satisfying close.

The obvious pairing of this book would be with, "The Kid Who Ran For President" by Dan Gutman. Also consider giving it out with fellow first-time novel, "Donuthead", by Sue Stauffacher for another look at a kid dealing with dangers and insecurities. "Crown Me!" isn't going to garner too much attention, but it's bound to be adored by those kids who sympathize with Justin and his quest. Lay has an accessible voice and a fun plot here. She's bound to win some fans with this book.