Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic

Desmond Pucket and his friend Ricky love to play practical jokes involving special effects. Over the year they have put blood balloons in cake, worms in the mashed potatoes and others. Mr. Needles is the school disciplinarian. He knows Desmond is behind all the mayhem, but he is unable to prove it. He watches him like a hawk. When Desmond decides to play the best pranks ever at his sister's sleeover it backfires. Mr. Needles daughter is hurt and he goes to "The Board". Fortunately, Desmond's mother intervenes and he is given 3 more changes. He must participate in the dreaded "extracurricular activities". He is given the option of 3 clubs, AV, School newspaper or drama club. As he strikes out in each one, he panics. He is in danger of losing the privilege of attending the school fieldtrip. When pranks start to happen on the set of the school drama presentaion, Desmond sets out to investigate because he is being blamed. What happens next changes the boring school production into the best they have ever seen. A fun story that kids will love. I like the end of the book where they give the recipes and directions to the reader for some of Desmond's tricks. The children will love that.

Written by Ben, age 9:

This book is about a kid named Desmond who really likes scaring people. This year, his scares could get him kicked out of school and not allowed to go on the class trip to Crabshell Pier. Desmond tries to stop his jokes, but when he sets off one last joke at his sister's slumber party, he's given three chances to prove that he can go on the field trip. Will Desmond make it on the field trip or forever kicked out of school?

I liked this book because Desmond isn't only interested in just playing jokes, he likes trying to scare people too. The book shows you how to make some of Desmond's tricks too. The book is really funny because Desmond is normally playing jokes and now he has to try to be perfect to get to go on the field trip. I am already reading the next book in the series and I'm halfway through it.

Not a scary book as the title can be misleading. My boys turned down the opportunity to read this book because the title led them to believe it’s a scary book. It is not really about monsters, but about a boy who likes to play pranks and scare his sister and friends. So, I decided to read this book myself. I loved it! If I was a 10-12 year old , this would be one of my new favorites. The story read quickly with fun comics and drawings throughout the book. As a kid I would have loved to pick apart each of these imaginative drawings throughout the book. The creativity in the plot was well played out. It was a fun story to see how this boy could get himself out of trouble. Other adults/parents might criticize this book because it doesn’t have a life lesson and may “corrupt” their child to become a prankster, but I say let them have fun. I've read lots of books and they do not always have a life lesson or positive ending. This book is fun, fun fun! I think it would appeal to both boys and girls! I am planning to buy the paperback for my boys to enjoy!

I would like to thank NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Because Tatulli is primarily a comic strip artist (he's the creator of the largely wordless surreal strip "Lio") he has an excellent sense of visual timing. Thus, Tatulli uses the illustrations in these books to full effect. While Desmond is a prankster with a fondness for the macabre, his pranks come from a sense of fun and pleasant fear rather than anything truly malicious (excepting those he plays on his older sister), making him a likable, if somewhat odd, character. I liked the emphasis on planning and design before Desmond pulls any stunt, encouraging the same process thinking from readers .The plots are a little silly but in an entertaining way. Desmond Puckett is a solid choice fore young, fun-loving mischief makers.

Fun story, my 12 year old loved it and thought it was fabulous. I myself enjoyed the story and can't wait to see more from this author.

This was a fun book for kiddies 10+, normally I never assign an age group to books, but this one is a bit lengthy and doesn't have that many illustrations, so younger children might get a bit bored.

In this book we meet Desmond Pucket, a very energetic middle schooler with a flair for monsters. As he navigates school, evil teachers and crushes, we see Desmond try really hard not to get into too much trouble.

You'll definitely laugh with this one.

Rating 5 out of 5 Read@Book