Browsing the beginning chapter books: Binder of Doom: Brute-Cake by Troy Cummings

Genre: Humor; Creepy

Protagonists: Male, Black

Reading Level: 400s

Series: Complete with 4 titles

Originally reviewed in August, 2019

Review: Long ago I read and reviewed the first book in the "Notebook of Doom" series, Rise of the balloon goons. Unlike some Branches series *cough* Owl Diaries *cough* where I was totally wrong that they would be popular, I knew right away that this one would fly off the shelf. This series has certainly followed through on its promise, producing book after book of mildly creepy, funny, and wacky monsters. The format and reading level have attracted readers of all ages - I even have middle schoolers who love to read it, as well as parents reading it with their kids!

Naturally, when I saw the series was set to continue, I had to pick up the first book in the new series. The story opens with Alexander Bopp, (black) hero of the Super Secret Monster Patrol, feeling down in the dumps. They've fought off all the monsters (well, except for the members of the patrol themselves...) and now his friends are busy for the summer and he feels lonely. His dad signs him up for a summer class at the library and there he starts encountering strange occurrences which lead him to discover... a whole new set of monsters! He starts a new binder and gets back with his friends, but will they be able to defeat the Brute-Cake?

I love that Alexander is still the leader, not the sidekick or the "friend" of the white kids. I love the positive image of the library - although I don't know of any libraries around here that offer "summer camp" type experiences where you can drop off your kids, there are many libraries that do this, so it's not unrealistic to include. The book is full of silly monsters, just the right amount of peril, and lots of black and white images. Of course, there are also the monster stat pages, goofy jokes, and clueless parents.

Verdict: Sure to fly off the shelves just like the Notebook, make sure you've got plenty of copies of the Binder - and maybe think about trying some of those library activities!

Revisited: I was disappointed that this series never went past four volumes, but it and the original series both continue to circulate briskly and are worth purchasing if you missed out on them when they were released.

ISBN: 9781338314670; Published May 2019 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium (all my copies are checked out!); Purchased two copies for the library