Artsy-Fartsy: Book 1 (The Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel Series, 1) Hardcover – October 1, 2010

My 2nd grader loves these books

I saw a review for Glitch (book 7) in Creative Child Magazine and was intrigued. I decided it'd be best to start with the beginning of the series, and I took a chance and gave three as holiday gifts in addition to getting one for my son. Feedback all around has been glowing! My son is 8, and he gets so tickled with the humor that he laughs out loud and re-reads and repeats some of the funnier lines often. The addition of the vocabulary words and funny (but accurate) glossary has been a hit, and I'm pleased and surprised that my son happily consults it. The story is engaging, spot-on for the elementary grade set, and very positive. Themes include friendship, creativity, courage, and acceptance of yourself and others---quirks and all, but it's not one bit preachy---just a very fun read. We will be reading the whole series, no doubt about it! (I've already recommended it to our county library and my son's school library.)

My 7 year old son just loves this series!The vocabulary building strategy is brilliant, and he loves looking up the (*) words in the back.They are written as the sketch-book/journal of a 10 year old boy, and they're so fun!

The fiction book Artsy Fartsy is a fun, and kid friendly book for all ages. The silly characters in the book make it very enjoyable for all. My favorite part was when Aldo started to enjoy baseball! This adventurous book will take your imagination to many places! I think that ages 4-40 would enjoy this book. Artsy Fartsy will make you laugh out loud! It is humorous, and older people would enjoy the humor. It is humorous, and believe me, all of us can relate to it!Review by Sofia H, age 11, Denver Mensa

Great for 7 and 8 year olds. It keeps them interested and they can't wait to get the next boo in the series.

My 9 year old grand daughter loved it. She want the "B" book now.

The font in this long story is nontraditional and occasional scratchy underlinings are jarring. While I applaud the idea of introducing new words and explaining them in the Word Gallery (why not call it the glossary?) at the end of the book, I wonder if young readers will take the time to read those last eight pages.If the purpose of introducing new words is to increase one’s vocabulary, wouldn’t it make sense to choose words their readers are apt to use once they know them? I am a retired teacher and I don’t recall my students using such words as ad nauseum, ambrosial, asinine, or audacious.-Hope Irvin Marston, author of EYE ON THE IDITAROD: AISLING’S QUEST

A friend recommended this series for my grandson. Hopefully he will enjoy reading this one and the following books, which I will order.