The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy

Time Warp Trio #3

by Jon Scieszka

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles!  The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Humor

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Jon Scieszka is an American children's writer, best known for picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based literacy program for boys whose mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The beginning of the book has one of the boys speaking out about the horrible stereotyping of "Indians" in a show they are watching, then the book goes on to make the very same mistakes for the Natives in the story. Even if they did allow for some of the Indians to be nice guys, they still had a group attempt to scalp the boys. We were going to read through the collection as a family, but there is no way I would read this one to my kids.

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, these books are enjoyable, but I do have one major beef. I've read three books so far and there have been two (extremely minor) female characters - Joe's Mom, and Guinevere. Not only do they have a combined amount of maybe five pages of "screen time," they are both introduced in the first book. Why is history a lady-free zone here?

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowboys, Indians, and the US Calvary in 1868! I loved talking about these three groups of people and their interactions with my 5yo. This book did a great job giving a small flavor of the Wild West. It was the perfect length for a read aloud. The personalities of the three boys are hilarious and keep both of us laughing through out. It has just the right amount of suspense for a child. Very exciting and interesting. We both love these books!

SPOILERS and book notes:
Cowboys 1868! Texas long horn stampede!! I absolutely love how the author wrote these historical cowboys to talk! ““I don’t give a crusty cow patty if they’re from the moon and want to be the King of England. I’ve got a thousand head of longhorn to drive up this trail.” This is so relatable and funny!: “fixed us up with three scrawny ponies that looked like they escaped from the used-horse lot. Fred fell off once. I got thrown four times. And Sam quit counting how many times he got dumped by his cross-eyed nag.” This is their job: “running drag”: “Our job was to follow the herd, round up strays, and keep the slow cattle moving. What we really did was choke on dust, run blind into cactus, and smell the nasty smell that follows two thousand cattle wherever they go.” And after their first day: ““I’m starved,” said Fred. “I’m hungry, thirsty, dirty, sore, and too tired to list everything else I am,” said Sam.” I love how realistic the author is making being a cowboy sound. Flash flood is coming! An Indian says this about Joe: ““But I must warn you: I think this one’s name is Talks Like the River. He never stops.” The Indians call the three boys “wasichus.” Which means white people. And Trey thinks it is hilarious. Now the “calvery” blue coats (American soldiers) come!

[Mary Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fred, Sam and Joe are bored with the cowboy movie they're watching at a sleepover. Having traveled in time before to the time of pirates, giants and wizards, they wonder aloud what it would be like to see real cowboys. When the green mist starts rising from the magic book, they know they are on their way. The time of real cowboys turns out to be much dirtier, more difficult and dangerous than they could have imagined. Riding drag means they follow the herd, round up strays, land on cacti and eat horrible food. They are captured by members of a Cheyenne tribe. They wonder if they will ever get home again. They have discovered in their captivity information about the culture and government of the Cheyenne. If only they magic book will appear, they can return to their home and safety. At one point, they are strapped to a tree with expectations of being scalped by one of the more violent members of the tribe. Next, there is a battle between the cowboy cavalry and the indians. When the magic book appears just in time, they are transported back to the sleepover.

Typically, the illustrations of the books are comic with simple shapes and lines as in the cover illustrations. The style of illustrations varies when they are captured, depicting the Indians in a more realistic, detailed fashion. This seems to be appropriate and culturally sensitive. The pen and ink drawings typically add an element of hilarity to even terrifying moments. With illustrations on every fourth page integrated with the text, young readers will enjoy the humor and imagery provided. The cover conveys the imaginative nature of the books and comic style of the series drama.

The short chapters, action and humor will appeal to young readers building stamina toward chapter books. I'd recommend this book for children ages 7-10, depending on reading level.

[Edie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good The Bad, And The Goofy By: Jon Scieszka
Fred, Sam, Joe are on summer vacation they have a book that sends them to any time period and they get themselves in a pickle. Joe is a kid with a magical book and his friends don’t like it. Sam doesn’t want to go to 1864, but he is the reason they are there. They find a group of cowboys, but a storm comes and separates them.They run into Indian, and takes them back to their village. The chief makes the decision to let them live, but the hunter leader doesn’t agree and ties them up. The chief comes and saves them, but the king them comes and tries to kill them. They have to stop time with the book. They save the Indians and comes to their time period.

[Jerrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5. I liked the writing of Jon Sciezka and less so the illustrations, which are a bit racist looking. The story starts with the Trio having a sleep over and watching a lily white cowboy named Bob protect a wagon train from a group of Indians. The Trio decide they should go back and be cowboys. When they arrive back in time they fin that the cowboys they find are mostly black and Mexican. Not as good as Knights of the Kitchen Table or The not so Joll Rodger

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book that is part of a series. This is the first of these books that I've read, and I didn't feel like I missed too much. The 3 main kids have a book that allows them to time travel. In this book, they go back to the old west days of cowboys and Indians. They get into some trouble and eventually get themselves out of it and back to today.

[Kate Foran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and clever. The adventure is framed by a stereotypical western movie full of bad info — and then the boys time travel and end up with taste of the true old west (but some problematic stereotypes of Native Americans get reinforced, not busted).

Would appeal to reluctant readers (guided reading level P) who struggle with reading stamina up to 5th or maybe 6th grade, especially boys.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really I really appreciate how this story taught a different perspective on Native Americans that they were not “the bad guys” and were a culture and people deserving of respect and worth saving. The Natuve Americans were actually more likeable and respectful to the boys then the cowboys were!

Good story with lots of humor, action, and a good perspective on native Americans.

[Tori Whitworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first of the Time Warp Trio I have read, and it makes me want to start from the beginning. I got a little lost in the story because I didn't know the background of the magic book, and how it works. I loved the characters, and enjoyed the good humor.

[Cheyenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cowboys are gross and stereotypes are even grosser. All the terrible misinformation you'd expect and then the boys are responsible for Custer's defeat ( after initially planning to warn him.) Skip this book. The rest of the series is likely problematic as well. Ah, the 90's...

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one with my 13 and 9 year old boys. I think we are going to take a break from this series. I like the exciting and historical elements, but they are so short, by the time you are getting into it a bit , it’s over, plus it’s just dumb in places.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one with lots of action, and some history. I do like the conundrum of having to find The Book every time they go to the past.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time warp trio goes back to cowboy days. I think I liked how the author pointed out that there were both good and bad cowboys just as there were good and bad Native Americans. What your nationality is doesn't determine whether you are a good or a bad person; how you treat others does.

[Roger Gaboury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic = anything touched by Jon Scieszka or Lane Smith.

[Jose Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a Great book full of surprises I recommend it for anyone.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was indeed goofy, and rather fun, and very quick to read. There is a lot of action and dialogue and silly situations. So, pretty much perfect for a nine-year-old boy.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a little scary for my 6-year-old, especially when I had to explain things like scalping. But it's not stopping him from wanting to continue the series.

[Amélie Hartley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one, out of the three I've read was probably my second favorite. Waiting for my brother to read it.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find myself wondering if they can change history. Can they really want Custer? Should they?

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was the slowest to start but I loved the whole story and introducing Native Americans and some history to the series.

[Nolan Brendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it because Sam talks like a nerd. There’s one thing I liked about the story but I forgot. Let me remember.... Because they were eating disgusting stuff.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went for a walk today and came across this book on the side of the road. It was a bit muddy, but otherwise in pretty good condition for a side-of-the-road book. 5 stars.

[Kayla Upshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book did not age well. the way that native Americans or "Indians" are talked about will make you cringe.

[Elan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One second Joe,Sam and Fred are watching a tv show the next they are in the wild west.
I especially liked where they used the time freezer spell on the 7th Cavalry and more like that.
It took me total of 2 hours and finished the book in 2 days.
Suprising book!

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had many people comment on my goal of 100 books to read this year, especially since I am finishing my masters and will be trying to find a job all in the first six months of the year. My response is generally always the same. I am a firm believer that you have to make time every day to read; even if it is only for five minutes. Additionally, as a teacher, I need to read the books that I am either offering to my students or that I know my students are reading. What use am I if I have no knowledge about what books are out there for my students. I don't know if you have noticed, but there are a TON of childrens books out there. I am both overwhelmed by the number of them and beyond excited to start tackling reading them!

The first childrens book that I read this year was The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy by Jon Scieszka. It was recommended to me by a teacher at the school that I am interning at this year. It was great. This is part of a series of books about three boys who travel through time. They do so through the use of a book that one boy received from his uncle. They really don't know how the book works which leads to being put in some interesting places in time. Once they have traveled, they can't return home until they find the book in the time period they are currently visiting. This book took them to the time of cowboys that culminated in a show down with General Custard. I'll stop there so that I don't give anything away. This is a great book for those students that love adventure and fantasy at the same time. I have several students that I have in mind for this already. It is a P guided reading book with a 620 lexile score. I can't wait to see what my students think.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the third installment of the Time Warp Trio series, Joe, Sam and Fred are transported back to the Wild West. How cool is that? They get to be cowboys! Not so fast. The Wild West stinks- literally. The food is awful. The cattle are trying to stampede them and the Indians are trying to scalp them. I guess the Wild West is actually not that much fun. The boys must find The Book if they are going to make it back to their home with their scalps.

Again, another entertaining and quick read. While my daughter and I usually enjoy longer books, it is also fun sometimes to pick up a book we can finish in one sitting. And the stories are funny. I thought it was hilarious when Joe was trying to communicate with an Indian and it turned out the Indian spoke English. Too funny.

Anyway, a fun and quick read that is perfect for read aloud sessions, although you may want to be prepared to explain scalping. My daughter asked about that-

Daughter: What is scalping?
Me: Well, the Indian takes a knife and cuts off the top part of the head so that the hair stays intact.
Daughter: Why?
Me: To prove that the person is dead. To keep as a trophy. To keep track of how many people they killed.
Daughter: The people can't stay alive after being scalped?
Me: Um, no honey. That would kind of defeat the purpose.
Daughter: Did that really happen?
Me: Yes.
Daughter: Oh. Okay.

I guess I hadn't thought that I would be educating my daughter on how people were killed. First walking the plank and now scalping. Hmmm...

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I read this, likely from a Lodi Public Library copy, back around the time when it was released (I read Book 4 as well, but I think I entirely stopped with these after that, probably in favor largely of Goosebumps at the time). Oddly, I remember next to nothing about the plot. I like that it does a bit of expectations subverting with letting the stock film/television portrayal of cowboy and rancher life play out based on stereotypes, and then attempting to upend that by depicting them as gross and (hyper?) masculine. It definitely, in attempting to subvert the depiction of indigenous people as "savages" falls into the trap of simply depicting them as "noble savages," but for the mid 90s, that seems not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The Cheyenne chief the trio ends up with has some really thoughtful character beats, and I like that there's an upending of the historical sentiment the trio has around the existence of Custer (going from wanting to save him to massively undermining him). Again, there's some serious stuff in here and 70ish pages just isn't enough time to tackle it, so everything goes in broad strokes again with little in character development or meaningful world building. If this was an idea for a kid's weekly tv series though, I could imagine it as part of the 90s pantheon of kid's tv programming.

[lprater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transitional book : When three boys go back in time using a book and a rhyme, the adventures begin. First, the boys manage to survive a stampede and then meet up with some cowboys. I don't think the dinner of beans, bacon and biscuits went over too well with them, but by the time they had finished dinner, the boys knew what year it was. Of course before the story is over, the boys manage to survive a ride in a riverbed through a storm, meet up with some Native Americans and Custer. This book has an interesting front cover of an unhappy cow, a boy with a feather, a boy with a cowboy hat and a boy with a baseball cap, which gives the reader some insight to the story. Throughout the book, simple black and white illustrations help the. Transitional reader with understanding the story. This book would be a great addition to a unit on westward expansion or how an author uses humor within a story. I would recommend this book for grades 2-5.

[Leon White · Rating 5 out of 5]

What i dislike about the book is why fred be's so mean,for example on pg3 he snacthes the remote just to wacth someting eles.also another example is when joe dint want to give up the magic book to sam he wanted to get the money instead of sam getting them out of there. Antony would like this book because it has lots of adventures and and dangerous roots to life or death. One challenge of this book was way certain characters talk,i really dint know who was talking at a certain time in the book. i think the theme is to never be stingy or you will end up like fred and sam. at the end of the book all of thier cloths were ripped very bad.