Melonhead and the Vegalicious Disaster

Melonhead #4

by Katy Kelly, Gillian Johnson (Illustrations)

It's not fair! Not only is Melonhead's new fifth-grade teacher notoriously strict and mean, his mother is making him eat more and more vegetables. So Melonhead and his pals come up with a genius idea to get out of eating his mom's vegalicious meals, all the while convincing her that they actually love them. But the genius idea leads to totally unexpected and stinky results!

Genres: Humor, Realistic Fiction, Family, Friendship, Middle Grade, Contemporary

224 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best-laid plans oft go awry, and so do the impromptu ones. No one knows this better than Adam Melon and his best friend Sam. When Adam's mom invites the new girl in school, Pip, over for dinner, disaster is waiting around the corner. Or in this case, inside the duct-work. Adam's mom has resolved to provide healthier meals this year, and thanks to a new Vegalicious cookbook promising recipes kids will love, she is on a creative roll. The kids are awed by the work that has gone into her masterpieces...and horrified at the prospect of eating the bizarre concoctions. Their efforts to spare her feelings have unforeseen consequences when combined with the heat and humidity of September in Washington, D.C., though, and Adam and Sam learn some valuable lessons about honesty (and mold).

I started off thinking this book was silly and cute; I never expected to be laughing out loud by the end. Adam's antics put a grin on my face primarily because he was so earnest and full of "boy logic." Katy Kelly must have (or have had) boys in her household. She does a great job capturing the thought processes of ten-year-old males--or at least it seems so to me, seeing as how I have never actually been a boy myself but do have one in my home every other weekend.

I also appreciated that this story was so positive: all characters meant well and respected each other. This held true across all generations, genders, ethnicities, religions, and physical abilities. I loved the subplot wherein Pip worked to get the teacher to treat her the same as she did all the other students instead of focusing on Pip's wheelchair and cutting her too much slack.

My one quibble was that I can't imagine any parents allowing two ten-year-old boys to visit the Washington Monument and the Air and Space Museum by themselves. Maybe if they were in their mid to late teens, but definitely not fifth graders. It's just a bad idea on so many levels!

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Girls will probably like reading this story, but it's targeted toward upper grade elementary school boys. Plus there are a few jokes in there aimed at adults, which makes it a good choice to read with your kids.

My thanks to the folks at NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the advance egalley copy!

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the characters that populate Katy Kelly's Washington, D.C. neighborhood. They're warm, funny, extremely likeable, & so very real. The voices of these kids are fun & authentic, making them perfect read-alouds, & the scrapes they get into will have kids thinking of similar episodes in their own lives, while laughing a lot. Lessons are learned here as well, but not in a way that beats the reader over the head. Plus, Adam Melon is just objectively hilarious.
Melonhead is starting a new school year, which means a new (potentially very mean) teacher, a new friend who thinks just like Adam & Sam (but is a girl!) & a new heap of trouble. The major source of the trouble this time around is Adam's mother deciding that he needs to eat a lot more vegetables: bad enough on its own, but absolutely terrible when done in a truly embarrassing way - in front of his friends, too! The ever-resourceful Melonhead comes up with a quick solution, but is it a truly satisfactory, permanent one?
The story also touches on the growing pains that friendships sometimes experience as Lucy Rose & Jonique have trouble dealing with the addition of a new member to their group in the person of Pip, the feisty & independent new girl. Melonhead is initially impervious to this dissent, but when he does finally notice it, his handling of the situation leaves Lucy Rose not talking to him. Will Melonhead be able to fix it so everyone can be friends?
I recommend this series, & its companion, the Lucy Rose books, to every kid I can. I can't wait to hear about the gang's next adventure.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite as fabulous as Melonhead and the Undercover Operation, but still thoroughly awesome. Melonhead's mom decides to revamp the family meals to include 3 servings of veggies a day. But to make matters worse, she has come across a cookbook that suggests making some truly horrendous sounding creations in order to make the meal fun. Some of the ones Mrs. Melon tried were a unicorn, a yacht, and Mount Vesuvius. I'm a veggie lover, and these ideas made me feel kind of queasy, so you can imagine that Melonhead is not going to be a fan, either. Unfortunately (of course!) the way he deals with these special "treats" also leads to a mild disaster. One of my favorite things about this particular book was seeing the way Melonhead and his parents interact. There is a lot of family time going on, and I have to say this is a pretty quality family to be spending time with. Bring on the chaos!

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth grade is starting off better than Melonhead expected, his teacher isn't the Bad Ms. Mad that everyone said she'd be. But at home, meals are difficult as his mother has the family eating more vegetables in her wierd concoctions. Reviewer 21

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still not a fan of the "he said" "she said" every line. Makes it awful to read out loud, but still enjoyable enough to read with my kiddo though.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have your parents ever gone on a health kick? Did they make you eat lots of vegetables and other “good for you” foods? Maybe you didn’t like it so much. Well, Adam “Melonhead” Melon is not so crazy about his mother’s new cooking ideas. She is making him eat more and more vegetables. Melonhead is also having a problem wit his new teacher who is really mean. Melonhead and his friends come up with a plan to fix all his problems. But will it work?

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had to put reading this fantastic tale on hold. I had surgery earlier this week and this laugh-out-loud book is a bit hazardous to short term recovery! Kids and my husband have continued without me... Will catch up soon!

[Gabriella Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first.

[Jill CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me laughing and actually envisioning all the kid antics that occurred. I can see why veggies are an issue! A fun book.

[ariel liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book series is so cute I love it