Customer Reviews

Zack Files 01: My Great-grandpa's in the Litter Box

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been looking for a while for a nice long series of books that my 7 year old really liked. I wanted to read to him each night, and perhaps even tempt him to read to himself when I made myself too busy! He has an interest as many kids do in the supernatural, but I didn't want anything too extreme in this direction. The Zack Files are perfect! To start with, they are hilarious, especially for kids, but somewhat to me also. They are clearly written, fast moving, not lots of description, and have great plots. This first entry is about Zack adopting a cat that turns out to be a reincarnated relative of his. My son especially loved the fact that characters, including the cat, show up over and over in later books. You could probably jump into this series at any point, but I would start here---it's one of the strongest titles and a lot of fun to read!

I have a little trouble with the idea that the reading level is 9-12. I really enjoy it still and I'm 50. I read it aloud to my dad and he's over 80...

How I came across this. My daughter was a non-reader. I am a voracious reader. I used to think that if you could find the right books you could turn anyone into a reader. Maybe this is true if you count Manga as reading. I'm not sure that I do. My daughter started the fifth reading at a third grade level and this is one of the series I discovered while trying to find things that she could read and wouldn't find boring. The series was up to about 12 books when we stopped buying it, year-round school and a desire to read the first Harry Potter came along that year and ended the inability to read, even if the desire isn't all I would have wanted. I read all of these that we bought, and enjoyed them for the characters and the stories.

The Zack Files:
Great Grandpa Julius Is in The Litter Box
A review by: Lauren Richardson age, 8

This book is about a boy named Zack. Zack goes to the shelter for a cat. He comes back with a talking cat that say's he's Zack's great-grandpa Julius. Great Grandpa Julius the talking cat told cat lies can Zack trust him?

If you like books that have people in their fictional lives, Zack Files are good books for you! I liked this book because I really like fiction.

I like the T.V. show too on HBO. I give it 10 stars

This is the first book and the greatest in the Zack Files series. My favorite part was the shelter. It was funny and easy to read.

I recommend this book to 2nd graders and up.

For three years, I've tried to interest my now eight-year-old in reading. This series is the first he has wanted to read. He finishes one Zack Files story and immediately wants the next book. The children in his class at school are asking my son to donate the books so that they can read the series too. The titles are catchy -- pulling the children into reading!

In this story, Zack starts out to adopt a kitten and ends up with a very, very old cat. The author introduces the word reincarnation and repeats it throughout the story, so that the child can learn a new concept and understand it. New words are cleverly defined. Ah! A talking cat, imagine that, but read to find out what the cat has at the bank... This story includes the words cigar and schnapps, which may be for the adult reader and ignored by children.

These books are perfect for book reports because the action is fast, funny and happens in each chapter. The books are illustrated, short (50-60 pages) and complicated enough so that they hold adult interest. Read them too, so you can talk with your child after they read them silently. Dan Greenburg has a wonderful imagination, so you never know what Zack will do next. Also, the author doesn't use a lot of extra words, so the books are true page turners.

Zack's parents are divorced. It isn't discussed, but presented as a fact. You don't have to read these books in order, but you should encourage it because after your child works their way through these stories they will have read 26+ books. What an accomplishment! Our local elementary school rates this series 2.2 - 3.0 grade reading level.

"Great-Grandpa's in the Litter Box," by Dan Greenburg, is #1 in the "Zack Files" series of short novels for young readers. The book is illustrated by Jack E. Davis. In this installment, young Zack goes to an animal shelter with the intention of adopting a cat. What he discovers is an ornery talking tomcat who claims to be the reincarnation of Zack's great-grandfather! This revelation leads Zack on a curious quest that involves two more generations of the family.

"Great-Grandpa's" is a fun blend of humor, intrigue, and the paranormal. The herring-craving Great-Grandpa is definitely one of the series' memorable guest characters. Overall, a solid installment in a consistently entertaining series.

I came across this book when I was tutoring a third grader in reading in the Cleveland Public Schools during 2004. I thought this book was hilarious and immediately wanted to read the whole book. The whole concept of finding a talking cat at the animal shelter was very appealing to me because I like cats. This has to be the funniest book I ever read and recommend it for adults who want a laugh as well as for kids of all ages. I took it as being a sort of satire on reincarnation. I am thankful to the third grader who introduced me to the Zack File series. I eagerly read other ones since, but this one is the BEST of All that I read.

Karen Arlettaz Zemek, Author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

This book has very great carachters.The author made this book very exciting to read.This book is very funny.The book made you feel like if you were at a fair or at a little kids school.The collection of Zack file books are very nice books.I wished i could read all of the zack file books.

I liked the book, there is always something weird going on in Zack's house. This time Zack wants a cute cat. Instead he gets a Tomcat that talks. The cat says he is Zack's grandpa. To find out if he realy is read this book.

My daughter is in the second grade and has to read for 20 minutes daily as part of her homework. She's very bright and likes to read. She came across the first of the series "My teacher ate my Homework" and we "buddy" read it together (she'd read a chapter out loud to me, then I'd read one out loud to her). We both delighted in the author's style, content and imagination. Since then, we've both read the entire series, and continued on to he author's next series, The Dripping Fang Forest series. These books are not only captivating for kids, but I found myself waiting for the next page myself! Since beginning these series, my daughter's reading level and fluency have increased substantially. I HIGHLY recommend these books to kids of all ages and adults too. Hats off to Dan Greenburg!

I can appreciate that these books are meant to be goofy and fun, but they tend to stray into distasteful. The characters are sixth graders, but the reading level is about third grade or younger.

We've read most of the series, and I think my favorite is "From Bad to Verse". Almost every book in the series shows kids acting irreverantly toward parents/authority and disrespectfully toward one another.

Plenty of underpants humor. Divorced parents, with a "cool" dad.

I prefer the Geronimo Stilton books -- they are more uniformly charming and innocent.