Max Malone and the Great Cereal Rip-off

Max Malone

by Charlotte Herman, Cat Bowman Smith (Illustrator)

Tired of being cheated by the cereal companies, Max decides to fight back after not receiving a free glow-in-the-dark sticker in his box of Choco-Fish

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Charlotte Herman is the author of many beloved books for children, including the acclaimed Millie Cooper series and The House on Walenska Street. Like Dorrie, Charlotte possesses a lifelong love of family, chocolate malteds, and hot fudge sundaes. She makes her home outside of Chicago.

Reviews

[Jamie Leeper]

I enjoyed this book. I ordered something from cereal one time when I was young and never got it. My mom wrote a letter to the company and they sent it to me.

[寿理 宮本]

Cute but predictable, kind of the worst gacha ever (insert Calvin and Hobbes strips about sending away the cereal box tops for the beanie), also still harkening back to the days when $2 for anything was expensive (it looks very good condition for what age I would've expected it to be, so possibly reprint w/o adjusting for inflation).

Admittedly, though, this is totally biographical for myself; even today, I will often buy cereal based on what I can get from it (other than a dubious breakfast)!

[Sarah]

Max feels gypped by the cereal companies when the "send for" prizes all end up to be junk. He learns that no one likes to feel cheated, so makes the right choice when he has the chance to cheat a younger boy in the neighborhood out of his good baseball cards. Great lesson on sympathy and doing the right thing. Story flows well, and isn't too long for readers beginning chapter books.