ABOUT THE BOOK
Ordinary Elementary is anything but ordinary. Below the classrooms are winding, abandoned, underground passages filled with lost treasures. Fifth-grader Graysen Foxx, aka The Gray
Fox―finder of secrets, solver of mysteries, and explorer of the unknown―is hot on the trail of the legendary treasure of Principal Redbeard, which includes decades of confiscated 
gadgets, rare comic books, first-edition Pokémon trading cards, an original Rubik’s Cube, and a retro handheld video game.Graysen is determined to find the treasure and share it with his fellow students. His nemesis, Raven Ransom―nicknamed “Red Raven”―plans to stop him and claim the prizes for herself, just like she did with the game-winning home run kickball everyone thought was lost on the roof of the school.
Wearing his adventurer-iconic fedora, journaling in his field notebook, and wielding his elastic stretchy hand, Graysen is ready for action. But can he avoid the second-grade spy network working for Raven? Could the third-grade twins, Maya and Jack, give him an advantage? Can he avoid the ruthless sixth graders while trying to protect the innocent first graders? And who is the mysterious Midnight Moth who is leaving cryptic notes and riddles?
It's a battle between courage and cunning, smarts and shrewdness, charity and cheating. With the treasure on the line, can Graysen trust his rival―or is it just another one of her traps? May the best treasure hunter win!
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/iSYciSjFjSQ
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. SCOTT SAVAGE is the author of both the Mysteries of Cove and the Farworld middle grade fantasy series and the Case File 13 middle grade monster series. He has published 20 books, visited more than 3,000 schools, and taught dozens of writing classes.
He has four children, nine grandchildren, and lives with his wife, Jennifer, in a windy valley of the Rocky Mountains.
Visit the author at jscottsavage.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jscottsavage.
Other Books by J. Scott Savage:
He has four children, nine grandchildren, and lives with his wife, Jennifer, in a windy valley of the Rocky Mountains.
Visit the author at jscottsavage.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jscottsavage.
Other Books by J. Scott Savage:
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Life Is What It's Called - What will readers like most about this book?
J. Scott Savage - I hope they'll like how the treasure hunt takes place completely inside of the school and its grounds and the middle grade noir voice that Graysen talks in. I wanted this to feel like mixing a fifth grade Indiana Jones with a lot of those old classic black and white detective stories starring actors like Humphrey Bogart.
Life Is What It's Called - How is this similar and different from your other books?
J. Scott Savage - On the one hand it it's another middle grade fantasy. So you get all of the adventure, puzzles, action, and humor that I love.
But because of the Indiana Jones type feel, It never crosses completely into fantasy. So you can get the janitor's three-legged hairless cat, Slayer guarding an important set of blueprints. But Gray isn't suddenly going to discover a unicorn out on the playground.
Life Is What It's Called - How many books will there be in the Graysen Fox series?
J. Scott Savage - At least two for sure. Shadow Mountain just released the cover for book two Grayson Fox and the Curse of the Illuminerdy that will release January of 2024.
Life Is What It's Called - What lessons will kids learn from the characters?
J. Scott Savage - I really wanted to stress how Gray and his friends have to choose between specifically focusing on getting the treasure or helping the other kids in their school.
Also, one of the things I love about Indiana Jones is that even though he's constantly searching for treasure he wants to use it for the good of all mankind. Grayson Foxx wants to find the treasure for the good of all student kind.
And I think just finally that we all have talents that we can choose to use to make a difference in the world around us.
Life Is What It's Called - Why do you think it's important for kids to be kind vs. looking out for themselves?
J. Scott Savage - One of the most important things about stories is they help us to be able to understand each other a little bit better. Especially in elementary school and junior high, kids are so afraid of being considered weird or different, that they tend to hide some of the most important parts of themselves.
Kids who read a lot tend to be much more empathetic. So I hope that giving them role models who are kind to the other students around them will help that even more.
Life Is What It's Called - What are you working on next?
Life Is What It's Called - What will readers like most about this book?
J. Scott Savage - I hope they'll like how the treasure hunt takes place completely inside of the school and its grounds and the middle grade noir voice that Graysen talks in. I wanted this to feel like mixing a fifth grade Indiana Jones with a lot of those old classic black and white detective stories starring actors like Humphrey Bogart.
Life Is What It's Called - How is this similar and different from your other books?
J. Scott Savage - On the one hand it it's another middle grade fantasy. So you get all of the adventure, puzzles, action, and humor that I love.
But because of the Indiana Jones type feel, It never crosses completely into fantasy. So you can get the janitor's three-legged hairless cat, Slayer guarding an important set of blueprints. But Gray isn't suddenly going to discover a unicorn out on the playground.
Life Is What It's Called - How many books will there be in the Graysen Fox series?
J. Scott Savage - At least two for sure. Shadow Mountain just released the cover for book two Grayson Fox and the Curse of the Illuminerdy that will release January of 2024.
Life Is What It's Called - What lessons will kids learn from the characters?
J. Scott Savage - I really wanted to stress how Gray and his friends have to choose between specifically focusing on getting the treasure or helping the other kids in their school.
Also, one of the things I love about Indiana Jones is that even though he's constantly searching for treasure he wants to use it for the good of all mankind. Grayson Foxx wants to find the treasure for the good of all student kind.
And I think just finally that we all have talents that we can choose to use to make a difference in the world around us.
Life Is What It's Called - Why do you think it's important for kids to be kind vs. looking out for themselves?
J. Scott Savage - One of the most important things about stories is they help us to be able to understand each other a little bit better. Especially in elementary school and junior high, kids are so afraid of being considered weird or different, that they tend to hide some of the most important parts of themselves.
Kids who read a lot tend to be much more empathetic. So I hope that giving them role models who are kind to the other students around them will help that even more.
Life Is What It's Called - What are you working on next?
J. Scott Savage - I'm actually just finishing book two of the Graysen Foxx series. I'm also editing a graphic novel called Quantum Galactic Sports League that will come out with Penguin in September of 2024. I am co-creating it with the artist Brandon Dorman. It's sort of a mix between Last Kids on Earth, Space Jam, and football.
After that there are a couple of projects that I have in mind, but nothing that I can talk publicly about yet.
After that there are a couple of projects that I have in mind, but nothing that I can talk publicly about yet.
REVIEW
My seven-year-old daughter instantly gravitated to this book and was carrying it around with her wherever she went as she was reading. I took it away, so I could read it for my review and as soon as she had it back, she finished it within a day and has reread it again. She really enjoyed this book and said it was one of her favorites. She was instantly attracted to the cover with the bright colors and cartoon illustration. As for my thoughts, the voice was a little different from the author's other books. J. Scott Savage got inside the head of his character and really created something unique and different. To me, the story had an Indiana Jones, Recess, and Harry Potter (without the Fantasy elements) feel to it. The story was very kid-friendly, and I think it would especially appeal to younger middle grade readers in elementary school. It was the exact kind of book that I was looking for my son about 4-5 years ago. My son was ready for middle grade books at a younger age, but the content for middle grade books is often geared toward middle schoolers and not always appropriate for younger kids. I had even asked his teachers and our local librarians for help. It was a struggle to find books. This book was exactly what I was looking for and I think it helps fill a gap that publishers often miss. Advanced readers that are reading chapter books at a young age will find this book perfect for them. It would also appeal to older elementary school students as well. It has a little bit of everything. Kids will enjoy the action, the drama, and the fun adventure in the story. The author does a good job at also including different characters from different grade levels, so the book really feels like it has something for every student. It also has a bit of what an elementary school may feel like to a student...older kids trying to make bad trades, mysterious rooms, and trying to navigate teachers and the principal. It would be a fun book to read out loud to students and to listen on an audiobook. I would feel comfortable with my preschooler listening to it in the car. I thought it was a really cute story and as a parent, I would love to see this as a series with several books. To learn more about this book, click here.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. I received a free copy of the book to review; however, this is my honest opinion.
No comments :
Post a Comment