Review of Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster by Madeline M. Pratchler

Welcome to the book review tour for Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster by Madeline M. Pratchler! Today I'm sharing with you an excerpt and my thoughts on this middle grade read. Be sure to follow the tour for even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Jaxon's enthusiasm for the simplest things bubbles out of him, and ideas continually pop out of his very large brain. His delight in helping plant the garden with his family creates a magical learning opportunity, and he's well on his way to being as smart as his dad. But sometimes his zest needs to be clamped down, and his blurting embarrasses others.

When Dad shares a surprise for Mom, Jaxon discovers the secret monster: a naughty guy who lives inside him, waiting to blab as soon as his mouth opens. Jaxon swallows him down and tells him to be quiet inside his head, but will that monster listen? And what about the next time when Jaxon plots a prank on the ice cream man?

Read an excerpt:

Once our groceries were on the belt, I heard a whiny man’s voice. I was shocked because a whiny voice usually sounded like mine, not a deep voice like Dad’s. I turned around curiously, and here was a man with gray hair, holding a plastic bag with just one small thing in it. He was doing big breaths.

“Only one till open, hmmmm, only one till open,” he complained.

I stared at him in disbelief. I had never heard a grown-up act whiny before! I saw him look back and forth, then sigh loudly again.

“HMMMM, only one till open.”

A lady was between us and him. She had a basket slung over her arm with juice, bread, and some fruit inside. She said kindly to him, “You can go ahead of me if you like.”

“Hey, thanks,” he happily stepped right behind us. Now I could see inside his plastic bag. He had one thing only – a green pepper. I hated green peppers. He came into the store for just a green pepper? Seriously? Was he gonna eat that thing?

“Hmmm, just one till open,” he whined again and this time Mom turned around.

“Did you wish to go ahead of us?”

“Oh, thanks, yes!” He squeezed ahead of us and handed his pepper to the cashier who was just about to beep our order.

I felt hot rushing into my head and my mouth came all the way open. Before I could even think, the monster inside of me jumped out of my mouth, “That’s no fair! How come he gets his way when he’s being a whiny pants? You always say we shouldn’t whine, and –“ Mom poked me sharply and her face was super red but I couldn’t stop. “Then you actually totally listened to him!”

The man heard and looked at me. “Just super busy today, thanks.” He pulled out some money to pay.

“But it’s a pepper!” The monster in me refused to be swallowed and quiet, and it just didn’t make any sense! “If you’re so busy, you really needed a pepper? They are gross anyway!”

“Jaxon, HUSH!” Mom’s eyebrows were almost up to her hair.

Luke’s face looked amused…and horrified. “Peppers look like lizards when they’re cut up on pizza,” he said quietly, “I wouldn’t drive to the grocery store on a busy day just to buy a pepper either.”

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**My thoughts**

This cute chapter book is told from Jaxon's point of view as he contemplates life and the world around him. Some of his vocabulary mix-ups are a little reminiscent of Ramona. He is very curious and very outspoken, much like other young men I have known at that age.

It is a snapshot into his life in the country one particular summer that actually took me back to my own childhood planting the gardens with my own parents. Readers may develop curiosity about starting one of their own! 

I will say it did feel more like reading a memoir than the adventures of a child, but it was still cute.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Goddess Fish for fulfilling my review request. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a young child, Madeline Pratchler was always telling stories, and as she grew she wrote stories and poetry, falling more and more in love with words, ideas, learning, reading and music. She is an accomplished musician on the organ and piano, and not so accomplished on the violin (yet!). A prairie girl through and through, she delights in big skies, clouds, horizons, fruit trees, and her garden. She lives in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, with her husband and their four children. Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster is her first book.

CONNECT WITH Madeline M. Pratchler

WEBSITE madelinepratchlerauthor.com

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069545053024

Madeline M. Pratchler will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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