I really enjoyed this one, especially the illustrations. I would have given it 4 stars, but I just don't like intrusive narrators. I do think I'll read any further Templeton twins adventures, though. ( )

I don't know what I like best about this book—the cover, the antagonistic narrator, or the word puzzles. Or maybe it's the meatloaf recipe. Or the end-of-chapter quizzes, with questions like:

1. Mary has five oranges. She gives two to Tom. Tom buys twice as many as Mary has left and gives half of them to her. Who cares?

2. Why are some dogs ridiculous, whereas other dogs are utterly ridiculous?

3. Have you ever walked around the block? Would you like to do so now? The rest of us will wait here until you return. Or will we?

It's a fun book, visually and textually. The Templeton twins are clever kids with an inventor father, so obviously some Caractacus Potts-style inventions come into play. And speaking of ridiculous dogs, the way the narrator talks about Cassie the Ridiculous Dog is my other favorite thing about this book. He calls her that as though it's her official name; toward the middle he starts abbreviating it to Cassie the R. Dog, and by the end it's C. the R.D., which just makes me laugh. Kids should find the book funny, and although the sarcastic narrator is a bit heavy-handed at times, it's still pretty fun for adults to read, too. ( )

Cute but not fabulous. ( )

Full of humor and sass! Great story for kids and I (an adult) enjoyed it too. ( )

I started reading The Templeton Twins, and 10 pages into the book I knew I HAD to read it aloud to my 5th and 6th graders. Now this was after I had decided I just didn't have time to read aloud to the students right now. But within 10 pages I knew I had to make the time, because I knew they would love it as much as I did. Why did I love it? Well the narrator for one! I'm not usually one to like books where the narrator addresses the reader, but this narrator is so hysterical that I very quickly got over that. But what really got me are the "Questions for Review" at the end of every chapter. As an English teacher I assign questions at the end of the stories, so to see how funny these are really hooked me. And I knew my students who always have to answer those questions would find them just as funny.

The plot was fun and mysterious, so not only does the voice hook you in - the story does as well. I had to figure out how the whole thing fit together and how the twins would work through it all. Well done!!!


So how did it go as a read aloud? Well judging by the number of laughs that happened as I was reading I'd say it went very very well. They really did enjoy it! When I'd stop for the day they would beg me to keep reading! I love books that do that. ( )