A new book for younger readers...

Oggie Cooder has a talent many fourth graders can only dream about. He can “charve” a piece of cheese into any shape he wants and that includes a giant cherry picker he discovers on his way home from school. Charving is a new word that describes Oggie's ability to carve and chew cheese into different shapes. He wants to be an inventor after all, fascinating isn’t it?

Oggie Cooder is an interesting and unusual character who is quite adorable as well. He wears odd mismatched clothes from his parent’s thrift shop, makes weird uncontrollable sounds when he is happy "prrrrr-ip", and basically “follows a different drummer”. In her second Oggie Cooder book, Oggie Cooder Party Animal, author Sarah Weeks brings the lovable fourth grader back into the spotlight. Oggie is invited to "mean but cool" Donnica Perfecto’s birthday party, but unbeknown to him it is at the insistance of her mother. Once again Oggie finds himself at the mercy of Donnica as she conspires to keep him from actually attending the party. Luckily Oggie is pretty oblivious to Donnica’s intentions and with the help of a few friends Donnica is outsmarted. After arriving at the party and being locked in a bathroom with a juggling bear, Oggie inadvertently gives her the best birthday present of all.

As a great introduction to Oggie Cooder Party Animal be sure to read Sarah Week’s first Oggie book Oggie Cooder (it is available in paperback). It will detail the "charving" side of Oggie's personality.

This short chapter book is fun and hilarious. The story can even inspire readers with a great idea for a memory tool that may help kids who have trouble with memorization. It is perfect for second through fourth graders and is a delightfully easy read aloud. Oggie proves that even though he is a little different, nothing will stand in his way!