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Double Dog Dare
by
Lisa Graff
What would you do to win a dare war?
In a humorous and insightful novel reminiscent of her award-winning titles The Thing About Georgie and Umbrella Summer, Lisa Graff tells the story of fourth-graders Kansas Bloom and Francine Halata, who start out as archenemies, until--in a battle of wits and willpower--they discover that they have a lot more in common than either would...more
In a humorous and insightful novel reminiscent of her award-winning titles The Thing About Georgie and Umbrella Summer, Lisa Graff tells the story of fourth-graders Kansas Bloom and Francine Halata, who start out as archenemies, until--in a battle of wits and willpower--they discover that they have a lot more in common than either would...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
April 12th 2012
by Philomel
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When new kid Kansas Bloom and Francine Halata tie with the same number of votes for the news anchor spot, their fourth grade classmates decide that the winner will be the one who takes all the dares the others can thrown at him/her. Thus begins a mighty conflict filled with humor and more than a little barfing as the two are dared to lick a lizard, consume several packets of ketchup, among other crazy activities. As they compete, they eventually realize that they have quite a lot in common since...more
Kansas Bloom is the new boy at school who rather than join the basketball team, because it reminds him to much of his dad, decides to hang out in the media club instead. Francine Halata has always wanted to be the news anchor for media club so when the opportunity arises she eagerly tries to prove she is up to the task. When her classmates reach a tie between her and Kansas they decide that the only way to break it is to have a dare competition. The boy or girl who completes the most dares wins....more
Double Dog Dare is the dual story of 4th Graders Kansas Bloom and Francine Halata. Kansas is new to school and was known in his former school as the "King of Dares." This moniker doesn't mean much until a spot opens up in Media Club for a new news anchor. Francine and Kansas tie for the coveted job. In an effort to break the tie Kansas and Francine embark on a Dare War--one point for each dare successfully accomplished and whoever earns the most dare points will become the new anchorperson for m...more
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Perfect fourth or fifth grade beginning of the year read aloud. Francine Halata has dreamed of becoming the media anchor at Auden Elementary for years. Kansas is the new kid, king of dares at his previous school, who somehow ends up being nominated for the anchor job. They challenge each other to a month of dares, with the winner guaranteed the media anchor job. At the same time, on a much deeper level, Francine and Kansas have a lot more in common than anyone knows! Hilarious, but also very rea...more
Aug 03, 2012
Augusta Scattergood
added it
A book kids will appreciate, for sure. Funny, easy to read, yet a lot of truth inside these almost-300 pages. Which is another good thing about the book- It's a longer middle-grade novel for those readers who speed through so many of the contemporary "school stories" written for this audience. I'm a big Lisa Graff fan, and I just loved this one. Characters feel like real kids, and the Dares just icky enough to have real kids love reading about them.
(Hint: I'll be giving away a copy next week on...more
(Hint: I'll be giving away a copy next week on...more
I just received this as a gift in the mail today. When I got home from school, I curled up on the couch with Double Dog Dare, and just enjoyed. I love Lisa Graff, and I especially enjoy how eclectic her different books are.
The "double dog dare" part of this story will appeal to many. Would be a great book to quietly put in the hands of a child dealing with divorce - it approaches it from two different angles.
A lovely read, humorous at times, that kids are sure to enjoy!
The "double dog dare" part of this story will appeal to many. Would be a great book to quietly put in the hands of a child dealing with divorce - it approaches it from two different angles.
A lovely read, humorous at times, that kids are sure to enjoy!
I was expecting lots of crazy dares and childish hijinx, but I wasn't expecting the elements dealing with Francine's and Kansas' parens' divorces. Gave the story a little extra depth I guess, but I wish the summary on the jacket would have at least hinted at this considering how central to the book this part of the plot is. Surprises aside, this will be a fairly appealing read for those kids who find it.
Francine and Kansas are enemies in the battle for who will be the school's next news anchor. Their friends think up the most incredible and shocking dares to see who will emerge as the winner - kids will enjoy reading about these (but please don't try to copy them!!!). While very humorous and entertaining, the book touches on some tough issues, i.e. being the new kid at a school and experiencing a divorce.
Francine and Kansas are each dealing with their parents divorce. Kansas is new to the school having just moved to California from Oregon. Both of them are in the media club which does the morning announcements. Each one wants to be the news anchor for the spring semester. So, they enter into a dare war. The other students chose dares for each of them to do; the one with the most completed dares wins the anchor job. Sounds simple, really. But Lisa Graff weaves compassion and caring into the story...more
Humorous and bittersweet. Fourth graders Francine and Kansas have to figure out how far they will go to secure the news anchor slot. Is there any double dog dare they won't do? I knew the read would be enjoyable but I was surprised how moved I was by the family interactions.
Apr 19, 2012
Kristen R
marked it as to-read
Recommendation Source: SLJ 4/12 could be paired with a Rube Goldberg Contest
Video by Author: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js0pkf...
Same author as The Things About Georgie (Battle of Books, 2012-2013)
Video by Author: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js0pkf...
Same author as The Things About Georgie (Battle of Books, 2012-2013)
When Kansas Bloom moves to California, he finds himself in a “dare war” with fellow classmate Francine Halata as they try to outdo each other to earn the job of news anchor for the fourth-grade Media Club.
Reviewer 16
Reviewer 16
My dad helped me pick it out at Barnes and Nobles', and I thought it was a really good book. A girl and a boy are having a dare war over who gets the school reporter position, and it goes a little extreme...
Looking forward to using this as a read aloud at the beginning of the year! Lots to laugh with the characters about, yet also connect with them emotionally during their true to life experiences.
Kansas Bloom and Francine Halata are two 4th graders who are members of their school's Media Club. When the vote for the next news anchor ends in a tie, they decide to break the tie by competing in dares. When a couple of the dares cause the Media Club to be cancelled, the two of them join forces to win the prize money in the school talent show. Along the way the discover that they have something significant in common which leads to the realization that they make better friends than adversaries....more
After a tie vote for the news anchor position of the school's morning announcements, Francine and Kansas get in a daring competition. As the two kids compete, they begin to realize they have more in common than they realized. In the end, the two must come to an agreement to keep the news program going. The book also deals with the issue of divorce. It is humorous but tackles stronger subject matter too.
Loved the back and forth between the two characters' perspectives.
Summer 2012 #bookaday #39
Summer 2012 #bookaday #39
I really liked this one. Convincing kid perspectives, humor, pathos.
Another enjoyable offering from the author of The Thing about Georgie and Umbrella Summer. While those two books are my all time favorites by Lisa Graff, Double Dog Dare is a good read with a few unexpected twists and a few more predictable plot points. Kansas and Francine engage in a dare war in order to decide who gets to be the anchor of the school announcements. Wacky dares ensue and provide levity to the more serious story-that both main characters are struggling to accept the realities of...more
Cute, humorous, rings true.
Jun 14, 2013
PWRL
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
jun-jr-fiction,
z2013-jun-new
SM
An enjoyable read for boys or girls grades 3-5 about a dare contest taken to extremes and two adversaries who find they have a lot in common.
Francine and Kansas vie for the school news anchor position. Kids decide they should perform dares. Both Francine and Kansas are dealing with divorce. The dares are really creative.
Read it to the kids this summer and all three of us loved it. It's funny, easy to read, yet deals with deep subjects as well. I cried as much as I laughed. It's a longer middle-grade novel for those readers who normally speed through stories written for this audience. The characters feel like real kids, and the dares are just icky enough, but not too extreme, to keep kids' attention.
Reviewed on my blog: http://sharingsoda.blogspot.com/2012/...
Jun 18, 2013
Angela
marked it as to-read
Jun 14, 2013
Deborah
marked it as to-read
Jun 12, 2013
Kim
is currently reading it
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