A Whole Nother Story [Hardcover]

Dr. Cuthbert Soup (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 22, 2009 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Whole Nother Story | Lexile Measure: 900L (What's this?)

The three Cheeseman children, their father, and their psychic dog are all on the run. From whom? Well the CIA, naturally. But also corporate agents #5, #29, and # 207, plus two international superspies -- one of whom happens to be a chimpanzee. They all want Dr. Cheeseman and his late wife's greatest invention–a machine with unspeakable powers–OK, I'll say it. It's a time machine. But it's not working right yet, so put all ideas of time travel out of your head.

Instead, please enjoy this high stakes, high action, hijinx-filled chase, and the bizarre characters our Cheeseman friends will meet as they protect not just their parents' invention, but their mother's sacred memory. It's an adventure novel like no other.

Oh yeah, and did we mention the entertaining, plot-exposition filled, unsolicited advice you'll receive along the way? So you didn't ask for it? Yeah, that's why it's unsolicited.

Unsolicited Advice #1: Read this book.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2009: What's a family to do when its scientist-inventor-dad builds a time machine that governments, super spies with chimpanzees, and just about every evil organization in the world want to get their hands on--at any cost? Run for their lives, of course! In the very first chapter, the recently widowed Ethan Cheeseman, and his three "smart, pleasant, witty, attractive, polite, and relatively odor free" kids are roused from their beds in the wee hours of the morning by their trusty canine alarm system--their psychic and hairless dog, Pinky. They pack up the family station wagon and head out of town, eluding the bad guys by mere seconds. In this fast-paced and very humorous adventure, the Cheeseman clan hits the highway in search of a new home where they can settle down and be a normal family (whatever that is). Along the way, they use their smarts to outwit and outpace the bad guys. Every page of this debut novel, narrated by the unusual Dr. Cuthbert Soup, is full of snappy dialogue, unexpected twists and turns, and unsolicited advice on subjects ranging from how to choose a dog to timely advice on time travel. Middle grade readers who dig the tongue-twisters, quirky villains, hilarious hijinx, and brave and brainy kids of the Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch will find lots to laugh-out-loud about in a A Whole Nother Story. --Lauren Nemroff

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Ethan Cheeseman, genius scientist, has invented the Luminal Velocity Regulator, a device that supposedly enables travel that is faster than the speed of light. Unfortunately, when spies, corporation thugs, and shady governmental organizations hear about the machine, they try to steal it, killing Ethan's wife in the process. The scientist and his children (ages 8, 12, and 14) have been on the run ever since, relying on their clairvoyant dog, Pinky, to keep them one step ahead of the bad guys. When the family finally finds a town in which they hope to settle, the villains swoop down to steal the LVR, but the kids, their new friends, and a busload of circus sideshow performers save the day. There is plenty of quirky, offbeat humor and little pathos in this tale. However, the narrative bristles with asides and bad jokes, and the author interrupts the story with short chapters giving advice on tattoos, choosing a doctor, and other matters. The inanity can be wearing and the characters (except for the youngest Cheeseman's sock puppet, Steve) don't quite gel into fully realized people. Still, those who enjoyed Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins) will find some of the same surreal qualities in this first book in a series—and a bit more warmth besides.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
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Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599904357
• ISBN-13: 978-1599904351
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 5.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Cuthbert Soup was born in Vienna, Austria, at the height of the Great Sausage Famine. At twenty-three he dropped out of high school and moved to New York City, where he landed a gig playing elevator music. He was soon fired, however, as his trombone kept smacking other people in the elevator. He is currently the founder and president of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice, where he has served as an unofficial advisor to CEOs and heads of state, and has given countless inspirational lectures to unsuspecting crowds. In his spare time he enjoys cajoling, sneering, and practicing the trombone in crowded areas. Dr. Soup currently resides in a semi-secret location somewhere in the United States. This is his first book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Move Over, Lemony Snicket January 1, 2010

By K. Coombs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I'd better start at the beginning, which goes like this, in the timelessly elegant prologue by Dr. Cuthbert Soup:

"If I could give you all just one word of advice, it would be... well, an incomplete sentence. Besides being grammatically iffy, I'm sure you'd agree that a single word of advice is rarely of much use. Even the phrase 'Look out!' (which could prove to be life-saving advice--especially where large falling objects or missing manhole covers are concerned) is two words.

"To simply shout out 'Look!' to a friend as a tuba falls from a ninth-story window toward his unsuspecting head will, at best, only serve to make sure he gets a good look at the tuba before it parades him, unceremoniously, into the sidewalk."

I have to say, any author who can use "parade" as a verb in quite that way is a man after my own heart. Assuming the author is a man--who knows? A Whole Nother Story is very much in the vein of Lemony Snickett as far as having a goofy invented author/narrator, odd interpositions, and a tongue-in-cheek tone.

Cuthbert Soup introduces himself and then the true heroes of our story: Mr. Ethan Cheeseman and, more important, his three children, who have no friends despite being "smart, pleasant, witty, attractive, polite, and relatively odor free." But their father is one of those handy fictional characters who has invented a very dangerous machine, the subject of a search by a super-secret government agency, spies from an Eastern European country, and the representatives of an evil corporation. In fact, one of those groups arranged the death of Mrs. Olivia Cheeseman two years earlier.... Which is why Cheeseman and his offspring--along with a psychic dog and a sock puppet--are constantly on the move with the not-quite-finished time/space travel (LVR) device.

Note that the Cheeseman kids rename themselves with every move, so in Chapter One they're Barton, Saffron, and Crandall, but they're Jough, Maggie, and Gerard for the rest of the book. Or rather, Gerard LaFontaine, Magenta-Jean Jurgenson, and Jough Psmythe (the latter only sounds ordinary!).

Banana guns, the appeal of dirt clods, Jough's new friend/baseball manager Elliot, and a traveling circus sideshow without a circus are just a few of the jokes you'll come across in Soup's offbeat first outing. The book evokes the humor of writers like Douglas Adams or, according to Kirkus, Dave Barry. (Be sure to pay attention to the way the circus sideshow has humanely gotten rid of its wild animals.)

As head of the Center for Unsolicited Advice, Dr. Cuthbert Soup pauses every so often to give readers advice loosely related to the narrative. For example, we have a page titled "Some Generous Advice on Gift Giving" that clarifies:

"Good gifts: A bottle of champagne, a box of fine Belgian chocolates, the Statue of Liberty.
Bad gifts: A bottle of shampoo, a box of fine Belgian matches, the Trojan horse."

The plot of A Whole Nother Story occasionally meanders and stalls, while characters seem to be introduced in much the same way people walk onstage to perform in a vaudeville review. But I think you'll find you won't care. This book is simply a lot of fun. And yes, it's obviously the first in a series, so there's more Soup to come. As the great Lewis Carroll might put it, "Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,/Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!" Read more ›

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!! December 25, 2009

By Sarah Browne

Format:Hardcover

I'm hoping that nobody notices that Santa read the copy that was under the Christmas tree! What a terrific read. I've been telling my husband my favorite parts, but there are too many to list here. If you're looking for a book that will keep you entertained while you read it to your kids or one that you want to read when they're done, this is it. The humor appeals to young and old alike with enough adventure and twists and turns to keep all levels interested. A great find. Hope there will be more from Dr. Soup.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the Whole Story December 23, 2009

By A. Kiesz

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A perfect book for any age. As an adult reading to my children I had to stop several times because I was laughing so hard. The suspense also had us all on the edge of our seats. My children loved the adventure and laughed out loud on every, or at least every other, page! A great choice for a clean, exciting adventure book loaded with humor. Loved it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Whole Nother Story December 23, 2009

By T. Fleming

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a great story for all ages. The humor is clean and clever. We especially loved the "unsolicited advice" given throughout the story. Cuthbert Soup is on our list of new favorite authors. Can't wait for the sequel!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and Fun for Everyone May 17, 2011

By Overseas Mom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Overall Review: Have you ever wondered what moths are thinking, always running into hot lightbulbs at night? Did you know that the fear of the number 13 has a name? Have you ever really wanted a fantastic (and super silly) recipe for Squash? Find these answers and a whole lot more Unsolicited Advice inside `A Whole Nother Story'! Silliness is the order of the day in this absolutely hilarious book! I was laughing before the story even started! The humor is dry and sly--it sometimes took me totally by surprise and I think I found myself laughing out loud more in this book than any other book I've ever read! All of the characters are funny and interesting. Mr. Cheeseman, his children (who will remain nameless since their names do change in the course of the story), their dog Pinky (who becomes psychic as a byproduct of his habit of drinking out of the toilet), and Steve (the sock puppet), are all on the run from some `bad guys' who want Mr. Cheeseman's invention: A Time Machine. The bad guys are hilarious, though! There are the guys with number names (Mr. 5, Mr. 29, Mr. 88 and Mr. 207) who have a lot of conversations about the difference between crushing, smashing, smooshing, etc. There is the international superspy with his assistant who is a minkey (monkey)--and his monkey's pet goldfish that rides in the back seat of the car. And we can't forget the guys with the letter names: Agents Aitch Dee and El Kyoo. Ha! There are so many other fun characters we meet along the way--especially Captain Jibby and his traveling circus sideshow, who aren't bad guys...or are they? If you want a book that will keep you giggling, this book will not disappoint you! Lastly, there are just two more things you need to know: First, there is a cliffhanger at the end.... Second, there are probably two Bengal Tigers loose somewhere in Utah...or maybe it was Vermont... Either way, you might want to be on the lookout! Overall rating is 5 out of 5 stars!

Content Review:

PROFANITY: One very mild instance

VIOLENCE: A few mild instances

SEXUAL CONTENT: None

MATURE THEMES: Mild

RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: 9+

I knew this was going to be a great book when a character calls another character `stupid', and he retorts with "Stupid is a bad word!" Great fun! The only instance of profanity was the word some pirates used to describe the circumstances of when a storm came up and lightning struck their ship 12 times. There is some violence. A character is shot in the leg. Someone is poisoned and dies. Some characters are attacked by a Tibetan Yak (they're not hurt, though). There is a big fight at the end--a character is stabbed by a swiss army knife, another is hit in the head with a rock, yet another is hit by a truck, and one more is hit by a pole and his leg is fractured. None of them die. There is one character that `dies', but it's not actually alive in the first place. I read this out loud to my kids and we really enjoyed reading it together. They're now begging me to read part two to them! They get most of the humor and enjoy the `action', but I can tell you they're missing a whole lot of those one liners! So, really, I can recommend this for all ages as both adults and kids will find all of it fun and engaging. Even my daughter who is very anti `action' loved this book! So that tells me this is a very tame and Squeaky Clean read for ages 9+!

This review was written by Emily
A Squeaky Clean Reads Book Reviewer

To see more fantastic books on review, visit us at squeakycleanreads! Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, Off-Beat, Funny, Original! May 28, 2010

By Yosemite Kurt

Format:Hardcover

As a fifth grade teacher, I'm constantly on the lookout for new stories to get my students interested in reading. Well, I hit the jackpot with this one. I love exposing kids to a wide range of stories, and I really think this one is pretty original and different than most others out there. This has to be one of my favorite read-aloud books of all time, because of the wide variety of characters (and accents) I'm able to portray as we read aloud. The book contains a lot of humor that might go over some kids' heads, but there is plenty that does not. I didn't really know what to expect, and I liked it that way. The story has a great pay-off and yes, it leads to a sequel. But my class was unanimous in their approval of this story and groaned every day when I had to stop. If you want a break from Percy Jackson, give this book a try. I think you'll be glad you did!