Geronimo and Goulash

Q: What series is hotter than boiling cheese fondue, smoother than a cheddar cheesecake, and more delicious than a mozzarella milkshake?

A: The Geronimo Stilton adventures, featuring Geronimo Stilton himself.

As you might expect from a series starring a mouse, these books are full of the cheesiest puns ever! To add to the fun, each book is fully illustrated with funny drawings, colorfully expressive fonts, maps, character lists and pictures --- and much more. Geronimo (don't EVER call him "Gerry Berry," "Gerrykins," "Germeister" or any other nickname!) is the editor of New Mouse City's newspaper, The Rodent's Gazette. He is a mouse who loves the comforts of home and hates to travel, yet he finds himself journeying off on adventures with his thrill-seeking sister Thea, his jokester cousin Trap, and his favorite nephew Benjamin. Geronimo becomes a bestselling author by writing down his adventures in these books!The Geronimo Stilton series books are international bestsellers. They were originally published in Italy (where they're the bestselling children's books, besting Harry Potter), and have been translated into 35 languages. Each book is a quick, feel-good read. Starting with the first book in the series, LOST TREASURE OF THE EMERALD EYE, these stories are as irresistible as a cheddar, Swiss and bleu cheese sandwich is to a starving mouse! With a new Geronimo Stilton adventure coming out each month, we can look forward to a frequent exciting good "tail"!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ---

(terryms2001@yahoo.com)

Now you might be wondering why I'm promoting a children's book series. If any of you have children between the ages of 7 and 10, I highly recommend this series. If your child is a bit older but has trouble reading or simply doesn't enjoy reading, I highly recommend this series.

Any child who has difficulty with reading usually is afraid to even try something new. However, this series of books will grab the reader on the first page with its humour, illustrations, and characters.

I remember a few years ago I had a fourth-grade boy who absolutely loved these books. During our silent reading time, he'd be so engrossed in the story that he didn't even realise that he was laughing out loud and disturbing the other students. But I never told him to stop laughing and indicated to the others by my smiles that it was quite alright to love a book like that.

Today, I was listening to one of my tutoring students read aloud from "The Secret of Cacklefur Castle" and I couldn't help but notice all the double entendres and allusions to things that children wouldn't "get." There is a higher level of humour in these stories that entertain older children and adults alike.

A section of today's reading was about Stewrat, the cook, and the stew he was preparing for dinner. Its ingredients were gross and inedible but its description made me laugh right out loud. It was doubly amusing because I happened to have my own stew on simmer while we were reading, and Stewrat's stew was a far cry from my own. I'll be getting more of these books for my students and one day I will let my grandchildren read them for their own pleasure.

Here's a peek at my own stew that I made today. I did make dumplings, too, but forgot to take a photo of them because by the time all my students were gone, we were too hungry to stop. D#2 made delicious peanut butter cookies for our dessert.

Everything in the pot.......... and then it simmers until dinner time. There was lots left over for both of us for several days, so into the freezer it went.