Customer Reviews

Winchell Mink: The Misadventure Begins

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay. I must admit that I'm not entirely done with the book, but I had to stop reading for a moment to pet my turtle and wipe the tears from my eyes. Been launghing WAY too much.
Young's characters are so colorful, and the only thing better than the great narrative are the mental gymnastics the main character goes through.
It's a great book for 9 to 14 year olds, 17 year olds, 32-37 year olds, anyone older than 53 (provided they still have a sense of wonder and imagination), and dinosaurs who can read. And no matter what your age, I recommend reading it to someone else. It's funny in my own warped head, but EXTREMELY funny when you have to say this stuff out loud.
That all said, it's a great lesson to any reader about the importance of finding the good in anything bad and overcoming adversity.
Read it to someone you like to giggle with today.

I have a 6-year-old relative who has epilepsy. He also has parents who seem more intent upon imposing their personal ideologies upon his condition than in getting it properly treated. They don't take him to movies, or let him watch television, and the diet they make him follow is one that prevents him from attending parties or snacking at a friend's house (or, for that matter, having friends).

The blurbs for Winchell Mink made it appear that Winchell Mink might have a premise that would appeal to a young person in this predicament: don't be afraid of your differentness.

However, when I actually sat down to read Winchell Mink, I found that this theme wasn't really developed. The book seems more of a forced, almost random exercise of whimsy, aimed more at adults than children. Some of the jokes are bound to go over the heads of anyone under 40. How many 8- to 10-year-olds (the apparent target demographic for this book) are likely to know that Clayton Moore, Winchell's nemesis at school and in other manifestations throughout the book, is the name of the actor who played The Lone Ranger on TV back in the 50s? (Well, maybe if they watch Nickelodeon.)

Winchell Mink has its moments, but there are too many other moments that remind you very pointedly that it is more about an author meeting a contractual obligation with his publisher than an effort to tell a story of lasting interest.

What a fun and totally wacky book! The wild humor will delight both kids and adults. I especially loved the stories within the story -- so bizarre you can't help but laugh. And Steve Young's twisted history scenes are wonderfully creative.

Teachers will find WINCHELL MINK a hilarious choice for reading aloud to entertain and encourage reluctant readers to love books. I can't wait to read Winchell's NEXT adventure!

Winchell Mink is embarks on an imaginative journey that will leave readers of all ages cheering. It's almost too funny to keep to yourself and begs to be a classroom or family read aloud. The chapters are engaging, the character's plight universal, and the laughter non-stop.

Winchell Mink would make a great addition to any home or school library.

Okay, not literally...although my butt does resemble a plunger. However I can sum up Winchell Mink in one sentence. This is undoubtedly the FUNNIEST book I've ever read!

My son loved this book so much he read parts of it to me and his friends. It was VERY funny! I hope this author writes more for kids. I love to see my son laugh!

My whole family loved this book - great for all ages. Side splittingly funny, especially as a family read aloud!

Eleven-year-old Winchell Mink, is entirely fed up with being bullied by everyone in school. Especially the extremely articulate Clayton Moore. This, brings Winchell to find solace in his loving box turtle, Hannibal. However, Hannibal is one of the Great Mystical Turtles of the Tortoissaic Period, meaning that Hannibal is able to communicate telepathically with humans. Which is how Winchell ends up falling off a cliff. You see, it was Hannibal who telepathically told him to go out an experience life. But that's just the beginning of Winchell's problems. When Hannibal runs off to get help, Winchell begins thinking that if he were a turtle, he would have already saved himself by now. With that, Winchell is suddenly in Hannibal's body. Winchell's situation grows more and more bizarre, when he suddenly becomes a brontosaurus playing on a herbivore baseball team, against the carnivores, finds himself living life as five-year-old Bobby Plungerbutt, a boy whose rear end is shaped, and operates like that of a toilet plunger, and more, all before he has to be home for dinner.

When I first saw the cover of WINCHELL MINK, I was extremely excited to read the book as a) it featured the body of a box turtle, and I love turtles, and b) it seemed like a fun time-travel adventure. After reading the first sentence, I found that WINCHELL MINK was a fun and easy book to get into, as his personality, and adventures were both exciting and outrageous. Winchell is a cute character, who wants nothing more than for his tormentors to leave him alone, and for his Mother to stop believing everything Clayton tells her. The character of Hannibal is adorable, and reminds you very much of a real turtle. Overall, this was an abolutely adorable time-travel story for young readers, especially those who enjoy the TIME WARP TRIO and MAGIC TREEHOUSE series.

Erika Sorocco

Steve Young is a funny man. He writes for sitcoms, he writes newspaper columns, he makes films, and now he's created a riotous book. Winchell Mink is a fast-paced adventure unlike any other middle grade book, sure to keep even a reluctant reader glued to its pages. Well, not literally. The only glue in the book is in the binding, so the pages don't fall out. You don't have to worry about any glue seeping out and causing the book to stick to your hands. But in a metaphoric sense, Winchell Mink is hard to put down, and not because of the glue. Seriously. Only the finest quality glue was used in the construction of this book.

Winchell Mink is a terrific story and not just fluff, as some children's novels tend to be. As a parent with two middle grade children of my own, I like to see stories that reinforce the idea that it's okay to be who you are and not worry about being something you aren't.

Highly recommended!