✨Welcome to Wonderland (2016)

Home Sweet Motel

by Chris Grabenstein

Illustrated by Brooke Allen

By Chris Grabenstein

Illustrated by Brooke Allen

4Rbooks                                       5/6                 grades          4-7

Amazon                                        4.8/5              grade level   3-7

Goodreads                                    4.09/5          

Common Sense Media               4/5                age 8+

284 pages

Synopsis

            P.T. was named for the famous showman and circus creator and is quite the entertainer himself.  He loves creating and telling stories and making his friends laugh. He lives in a motel that was founded by his grandfather and is managed by his mother.

            The hotel has seen better days and isn’t making a lot of money.  This becomes a problem when someone from the bank comes to visit and informs them that a loan taken out years ago will be due in one month.  How can P.T. and his family raise $150,000 dollars in 30 days.

            P.T. and his new friend Gloria, a financial whiz, get to work creating money making ideas to try and help raise the money.  There was Croaky Karaoke, Green Pond Scum ice cream, he Hidden Pirate Treasure Chest, and an Easter Egg Hunt. Great ideas, but not enough time to raise the amount needed.

            P.T. learns that stolen diamonds might have been stashed at the motel.  He, Gloria, and his grandfather start the search, hoping they can find them before an evil private investigator, or the two original thieves find them first.

Parental Guidelines:    low

There are some unsavory characters including two brothers who stole jewelry years ago and are trying to get it back and a private investigator who is big and points a gun at the children.

P.T.’s father is not around and there is never an explanation why he is gone.  P.T. writes the book for him.

A couple of moments of gross, ick humor.

Recommendation

Chris Grabenstein is one of my favorite authors for children and this is another fun addition to his catalogue.  It is also the first in a series of 4. It is a fun story with relatable characters: P.T. is the class comedian and born entertainer, Gloria is a financial whiz, and Grandpa has a unique sense of humor and is always up for an adventure.

The chapters are short, and there are many illustrations so reluctant and struggling readers will find it easily accessible. Advance readers can enjoy the sometimes-silly story while they work with P.T. to solve the family’s financial problems. Any classroom library should add this to the shelf, but a couple of word choices would make it a difficult classroom read.  There aren’t inappropriate words, but awkward for a classroom setting.