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Rise of the Balloon Goons (The Notebook of Doom #1)

Troy Cummings (Goodreads Author)

4.05 · Rating details · 1,270 Ratings · 178 Reviews

Monsters + Humor + Fun = THE NOTEBOOK OF DOOM!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Alexander has just mo ...more

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Paperback, 96 pages

Published June 25th 2013 by Scholastic Inc.

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Community Reviews

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Sep 28, 2014 Kris Patrick rated it it was amazing

Troy Cummings is coming to Brooks school elementary 11/19!!!

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Parents approach me weeks later to recount how their son hasn't stopped drawing and/or writing since Troy Cummings's 11/19 visit or how their daughter has been begging for #6, #7, and #8 in The Notebook of Doom series for Christmas though these titles are months away from publication. Mr. Cummings's humor and talent captivated the entire audience, which made for a delightful family event. And to watch an autographing line that snaked ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Dena (Batch of Books) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chapter-books, childrens-books, mystery

Finally! An early chapter book worth talking about! With the popularity of scary themes and mysteries, this book is perfect to introduce a youngster into the world of reading. I read this with my 5 year old daughter and she loved it. She went back through the book, page by page after we read it, looking at the pictures and talking about what happened in the story.

Alexander is the new kid in town and he is noticing a lot of strange things happening. The balloon goons you see in front of car deale ...more

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Jun 17, 2016 Paula rated it really liked it

4.5/ 5 stars. Finally! This is one of the best, illustrated, early chapter books that I've read in a long time. Cummings has expertly woven humor, mild suspense, excitement, and creativity into this book that young readers will love.

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Feb 06, 2018 Becky B rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, thriller, lower-grade-fiction, fantasy, humor

Alexander Bopp and his dad have just moved to the town of Stermont. Just getting used to a new place has put Alexander on edge enough, but after breakfast at a diner he and his dad come out to find all four tires on their car flat. Not only that, but every single car on the street has flat tires. Weird. He has to walk to his new school and could swear some of those balloon things that are put outside car dealerships attack him. Things come to a head when his dad gets a bouncy house for his birth Alexander Bopp and his dad have just moved to the town of Stermont. Just getting used to a new place has put Alexander on edge enough, but after breakfast at a diner he and his dad come out to find all four tires on their car flat. Not only that, but every single car on the street has flat tires. Weird. He has to walk to his new school and could swear some of those balloon things that are put outside car dealerships attack him. Things come to a head when his dad gets a bouncy house for his birthday party the next day.

Cummings has come up with a way to write a spooky story for lower grades that won't leave them traumatized. The monster is easily vanquished, and not in a gory way. The story rides that fine line of humor and horror well, and leans decidedly more towards the humor side. It's just enough ridiculous that even the lower grade kids this is aimed at will have an easy time sorting it into the fiction file and not real things that should creep you out and keep you awake file. And the illustrations don't just illustrate what the words say, they add to the atmosphere and story. (Especially the one showing the water tower of Stermont outside a window with the name looped continuously around so it starts with montSter.) During the adventure Alexander finds a notebook in the old abandoned school that is filled with notes on monsterous creatures. (All of which are delightfully creative and punny, like the Forkupine, a creature covered in forks and easily handled by distracting it with noodles which it likes to roll in.) So in all, the cover of this makes it look scarier than the story actually is. And lower grade readers seeking a little thrill in their pages should get that without any nightmares afterward. They may even get inspired to do a little creative writing/illustrating of their own and create some new monsters that could be in the notebook Alexander found. I have book two of this series also checked out, and I look forward to enjoying it too.

Notes on content: No language or sexual content. No violence really. The main character feels threatened, but shoe stealing and being bopped by a tough balloon and a balloon popping are the extent of the "violence." ...more

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Oct 05, 2017 Michelle rated it it was amazing

My 6 year old read this and would not stop talking about it. He loved it so much that he asked me if I would read it, too. I did, and I've got to say this is such a cute, funny, and engaging early chapter book! I loved how it integrated funny illustrations, text features (such as maps, captions, and labels), and even had fun extension activities at the end of the book. The main character, Alexander, moves to a new city that seems to be very mysterious in a funny-creepy way. In this first book he ...more

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Apr 13, 2018 Andrew (reads books) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: early-chapter-books

This is one of the BEST early chapter books that I have ever read. My brother owns this whole series and recommended it to me (he did not know my reading tastes...) the synopsis sounded really cheesy, but it was such a fun read and I read it in a half-hour. I think Everyone should read this book. You'll love it. Troy Cummings knows how to tie in humor, with fantasy, and fantasy with horror while still keeping it kid friendly. I will definitely binge this whole series this summer (probably in one ...more

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Nov 04, 2017 KJB🐶🐕🐩 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-love-this-book

This Book 📚 is AMAZING 😉!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this book 📚 was going to be very boring but it was AMAZING 😉

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Sep 20, 2015 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: action-adventure, for-the-kiddos, have, male-pov, me-and-morg, mystery, read-2015

My son Morgan is in the third grade (he's nine years old and has ADHD), and was having a hard time finding books on his grade level that weren't a bit long (and to him, a little daunting; he can read well but doesn't like to commit to a long book like Harry Potter). I think it's a confidence issue; he's just not sure enough of his abilities to want the longer chapter books. All he wanted to read was comic books like Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes. Of course the pictures were also of benefit to h ...more

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Jul 23, 2013 Carol rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, families, friendship, intermediate, juvenile-mystery, netgalley

Alexander has moved to a new town with his father. He immediately notices something strange about the town - there are a lot of those big bendy balloon guys around. The flapping fiends keep showing up in strange and unexpected places. And to make things even more crazy, air starts disappearing from everything - tires, footballs, bouncy houses, etc... As Alexander tries to fit in at his new school - which is temporarily being held in a hospital - he is also trying to solve a mystery that seems to ...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Kristen rated it liked it

This was pretty cute...and quite creepy. Not, like, "inappropriate" creepy--more like "creepy because I, too, am terrified of those arm-waving balloon men and this story confirmed that they are, in fact, demons who are out to attack me". I think this one is too young for my middle schoolers, but younger readers will like the suspense and humor. (If they're not afraid of balloon men.)

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Sep 07, 2014 Cathy rated it really liked it

My lower elementary aged daughter read this book to me. Despite the title, this is not a scary book. She absolutely loved it and will be reading more in the series. A great chapter book for kids making the switch to chapter books - engaging, challenging without being too hard, and funny while still having a serious storyline.

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Sep 15, 2016 Austin Phadoungsyavong added it

I think not real because if you find book DOOM and read then you have no idea what you read for this book DOOM or you want tell your family or friend make sure who are you and they think you are crazy or weird because no believe.

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Aug 24, 2016 RPL Children's Library rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

By Jai'anna, age 9: The book was good. It was funny and it had balloon goons trying to attack the kids.

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Jan 01, 2014 Morris rated it it was amazing

"My favorite part is when Alexander and Rip destroyed that balloon goon snake!"

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Jul 04, 2017 Debra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, juvenile

I started this series with the book Chomp of the Meat-Eating Vegetables (The Notebook of Doom, #4).. The title and cover just made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed that so I went back to get this book which is the first in the series to see just how Alexander winds up in this strange town crawling with monsters that no one seems to notice. The idea of those "bendy balloon guys" that are used to attract customers is such a novel idea to make into a menacing monster - fun colored and cute but WHAM th ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Katherine Sevigney rated it it was amazing

Shelves: edu-511-513

For my discussion topic surrounding this book is about using this book (series) to get boys who are reluctant readers to read and enjoy it. This is not a traditional chapter book. It has short chapters. The pages are not dominated by words. The pictures and words are filled with action. It almost reads like a graphic novel. I am wondering if other teachers have found that their boys love this series. I am wondering if teachers have used this book series to try to get the reluctant boys to read. ...more

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Jan 27, 2018 Amanda Eisele rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-chapter-books, children-s-books

This probably isn't the type of book that I would have picked up as a kid, but it was a perfect read for my first grader son. We took turns reading every other page. There were many funny parts of the book and one scene in particular had my son and I laughing so hard that I was actually crying. I would definitely recommend this book to little boys who love monsters and for kids who are transitioning over to reading chapter books since it still has a lot of picture support.

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May 08, 2018 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, first-grade, second-grade, humor-comedy, birthday-anniversary, fantasy, lower-grade

Alexander moves to a new town, a very suspicious and startling new town. Mysteriously air filled things are losing their air while Alexander keeps spotting advertising balloon goons around town. His enthusiastic father remains totally oblivious to the monsters, so it falls to Alexander to save the day. Love this for lower grades as an innocent introduction to suspense, thriller, and horror books.

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Dec 31, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it

Rating based on target audience. My three year old has been begging for chapter books. The librarian set this one out for us and the kids loved it. I loved how short the chapters were for easy reading sessions. I love how excited my kids get for the next chapter. I loved that it was "scary" - an element my three year old is always begging for in a book. I loved that it had lots of pictures. Another key element for my preschoolers.

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Mar 09, 2018 Rebecca Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorite-childrens-books

This book is so short that it can't really be much but the bare bones of a story, but for some reason I already love it! A child moves to a new school/town and is creeped out immediatelyby these strange balloon men that are seemingly moving when no one is looking. His teachers are weird (to say the least), and he finds a notebook full of bizarrely unscarey monsters like the forkupine.

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Oct 26, 2017 Ryan Jenkins rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chapter-books, fantasy, k-4, series-books

Lower elementary children would enjoy this the most. It is an easy to read chapter book with a fun concept. There are monsters that keep popping up in this town and it is up to the S.S.M.P to clear them out. Alexander and his dad move to a new town and start to find that things here are very different. First book of a series. Great for children just learning to read chapter books

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Oct 21, 2017 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017

So cute and I love the illustrations. Alexander is new but on his first day of school things seem a little strange. Are those balloons attacking him? With help from a new friend, Alex spends his birthday fight out a mob of killer balloon goons.

Super cute story for early readers and really awesome illustrations. Highly recommend.

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Nov 06, 2017 Tomas rated it really liked it

I really liked that there were balloon goons. They were so wiggly and strange. It was an easy read and I had a lot of "I wonder" questions. Like I wonder what S.S.M.P. stands for. I think it stands for Super, Scary, Monster, Problems.

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Nov 06, 2017 Mary Jo rated it liked it

Read this one with my son. He really enjoyed it and it wasn't too hard for him to read. I liked it enough to stay involved in his reading so we will be reading the rest of the series together. Fun children's book.

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Oct 29, 2017 Ellen Zarate rated it liked it

Shelves: action-adventure, early-chapter-books, elementary, humor

This was more fun than I expected-better written, too. Fans of Lunch Lady will enjoy following Alexander's story when he moves to a new town, starts in a new school, makes new friends, and also defeats monsters. Fun read for kids just starting to read chapter books.

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Apr 24, 2018 Killian Pennell rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 02, 2017 Christina rated it really liked it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, halloween, adventure

Reading Level: 3.3

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Apr 22, 2018 Raven Engelking rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was an awesome read. I will get this series. I think the writer is awesome to write a series like this. It gives the reader an adventure to keep you reading the story

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Jun 03, 2017 Sarah S rated it really liked it

I can see why kids devour these books. A little scare factor (not very) and suspense makes it hard to put the book down.

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Aug 11, 2017 Engel Dreizehn rated it really liked it

For an early chapter series...it had humor, surprising scary horror (dude the kitsch balloon dudes attacking! Something mundane made a nightmare!), and touches of black humor. Yep kids would like it.

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