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Boy/Girl Battle #7

The Boys Return

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It’s spring break and the only assignment Wally Hatford and Caroline Malloy have is to do something that they have never done before. Wally’s sure that will be a cinch once he hears the great news about the mighty Benson brothers coming to stay for vacation. It will be nonstop action all the way. For starters, the nine Benson and Hatford boys plan on scaring the three Malloy sisters silly by convincing them that their house is haunted. Of course, the boys don’t know that the girls are hard at work plotting their own special surprise welcome. The Bensons don’t know what they’re up against with the Malloy girls. But they soon will.

Meanwhile, everyone in town knows there’s a hungry cougar on the prowl. When the kids decide to take a break from their tricks and join forces in catching the cougar, guess who gets stuck with the scariest job? This will surely be something no one has ever done before.


From the Hardcover edition.

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

20 people are currently reading
239 people want to read

About the author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

247 books1,035 followers
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.

Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.

Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."

By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.

Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.

Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.

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5 stars
261 (44%)
4 stars
190 (32%)
3 stars
118 (20%)
2 stars
17 (2%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly.
706 reviews
September 20, 2012
Thoroughly and completely enjoyed this series, which I read to my daughters through Nov & Dec at bedtime. Love, love, love Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for elementary aged readers. Love, love, love this series for the Brady-bunch era of hijinx between children... Love, love, love that neither the boys nor the girls are clear-case winners of the "war", though, my daughters do believe there was a winner. Whole-heartedly recommend as a family read and to all elementary-aged readers.
Profile Image for Tamara the Librarian.
413 reviews
August 6, 2016
7th book in the Girls vs. Boys series by Naylor. Every book has at least two clever pranks or adventures that are interesting and engaging to read about. So far no book in the series has been a disappointment. Great for students grades 3-6 (in 6th it would be for lower readers).
Profile Image for Brooke - TheBrookeList.
1,312 reviews17 followers
August 25, 2013
One of the best ones yet - kids love the practical jokers in this series. So fun to see the Bensons return and help them kids catch the abaguchie. The kids LOVED it.
Profile Image for Pashi.
10 reviews30 followers
January 7, 2020
We who are about to die salute you.
19 reviews2 followers
Read
December 20, 2014
I can't believe the boys came back. Guess Tony had a big trick up his sleeve.
Profile Image for Lily.
212 reviews3 followers
December 22, 2022
3 stars

The Bensons come visit during Spring break and its gotten even more rowdy for more boys. I love that they tried to make the girls think their house is haunted.
4 reviews
Read
March 27, 2017
The Malloy's, Hatford's, and Benson's catch the cougar that has been running around.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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