Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Today my only son turned 10–double digits!–and what with being out of town and prepping for the holiday tomorrow, we weren’t as prepared as we might have been. Half of his presents, for instance, will be coming this week; he’ll get his birthday meals another day, since today was Fast Sunday; and as of yesterday, I had no book picked out to give him.

I, of course, realized this yesterday.

So. I googled book lists for 4th grade boys–because yes, he’s going into 5th grade, but he’s a summer birthday and a math boy–and came upon Louis Sachar’s There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom. Hmmm, I thought. I’m pretty sure that’s available on audio, and I’ve got a used copy I picked up somewhere if I want to flip through the actual book. Serendipitously, it was immediately available on Libby, and so I listened to more than 75% of it yesterday. I was planning on ordering it before I went to bed–I peeked ahead at the last bit to make sure the ending didn’t disqualify it as a good book gift–and then I realized that the used copy that’s been laying around is very gently used, and who needs everything to be brand-new anyway? He unwrapped it this morning–by which I mean he took tissue paper out of the gift bag it was in, because it was that kind of a day–and I just finished listening to it over a puzzle. I got a little teary, because there were feels, and hey presto! the used copy is in my son’s possession and I get to review it now.

The plot is a very familiar one–caring adult helps kid who needs it–but also one that never gets old, provided it’s executed reasonably well. Sachar does–although not in the most realistic way I’ve ever seen–and I think his boy readers, especially, will relate to Bradley’s worries, thoughts, and feelings. If you’re looking for a book for a latter-elementary boy that doesn’t involve bathroom humor–and those can be frighteningly hard to find–this is a solid option. I’ll let you know what my son thinks!