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The Gecko and Sticky #4
The Power Potion
Dave Sanchez (aka The Gecko) and his pet gecko (aka Sticky) are back in their fourth dangerous encounter with the dastardly treasure hunter Damien Black!
Thirteen-year-old Dave Sanchez is a daytime student, an after-school courier . . . and a secret superhero! So far Dave's been able to juggle his different roles. But in Dave's hands is the scariest package he's ever been asked to deliver. It's a tube, sealed on each end with wax, and addressed to . . . Damien Black. Holy tacarole! He can't just hand over a package to the most devious criminal in the city! Who knows what's in there?
So Dave breaks a cardinal rule of mail carriers everywhere—he opens the package. Inside is a small bottle that's one drop, two at most, tested, works. The potion in this bottle is blue and sparkly and oozy and smelly—but what does it do?
Ah, poor Dave. He has opened a Pandora's box of trouble. Your classic can of worms. And as a result, he'll find himself facing off with six-horned goats, terrifying tarantulas, a java-junkie monkey—and, of course, Damien Black.
Thirteen-year-old Dave Sanchez is a daytime student, an after-school courier . . . and a secret superhero! So far Dave's been able to juggle his different roles. But in Dave's hands is the scariest package he's ever been asked to deliver. It's a tube, sealed on each end with wax, and addressed to . . . Damien Black. Holy tacarole! He can't just hand over a package to the most devious criminal in the city! Who knows what's in there?
So Dave breaks a cardinal rule of mail carriers everywhere—he opens the package. Inside is a small bottle that's one drop, two at most, tested, works. The potion in this bottle is blue and sparkly and oozy and smelly—but what does it do?
Ah, poor Dave. He has opened a Pandora's box of trouble. Your classic can of worms. And as a result, he'll find himself facing off with six-horned goats, terrifying tarantulas, a java-junkie monkey—and, of course, Damien Black.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Wendelin Van Draanen
56 books2,241 followersWendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series, and wrote Flipped which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by SLJ, and became a Warner Brothers feature film with Rob Reiner directing. Her novel The Running Dream was awarded ALA’s Schneider Family Award for its portrayal of the disability experience.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2021
The monkey's back! (Of course the monkey is back) and a six horned goat, and the bumbling Bandito Brothers, and the devious devilish Damian Black. Will Damian's evil plan succeed? Will the Brothers go back to their mariachi roots? Did the monkey get his coffee, and what's up with that six horned goat?
As if any of these questions really need answers, as Van Draanen again makes me question whether I'm uncomfortable with the depiction of stereotypes of the Roma and Mexicans and LatinX culture- she goes a little beyond stereotypes to absurdity, sort of. I'm not sure.
The stories were just fun enough though, and may they be done (although I fear they aren't)
And what happened to the dreaded Science teacher who fell for Damian before?
As if any of these questions really need answers, as Van Draanen again makes me question whether I'm uncomfortable with the depiction of stereotypes of the Roma and Mexicans and LatinX culture- she goes a little beyond stereotypes to absurdity, sort of. I'm not sure.
The stories were just fun enough though, and may they be done (although I fear they aren't)
And what happened to the dreaded Science teacher who fell for Damian before?
March 21, 2012
The Gecko & Sticky are two of the most hilarious characters I have ever come across in literature. Sticky is the actual gecko and the “Gecko” is the superhero moniker of Sticky’s 13-year-old friend, Dave Sanchez. Confused? It makes sense when you read the book, whose tongue-in-cheek narrative style is full of asides and inside jokes for the reader.
The Gecko and Sticky actually make their first appearance within the pages of van Draanen’s four book Shredderman series–which I also highly recommend. (There is very little of van Draanen’s work I cannot recommend–only those I have not yet read.) It should be noted that in Shredderman they appear as a fictional superhero and sidekick character whereas in The Gecko & Sticky series the narrator specifically tells us she is relating an ABSOLUTELY TRUE story.
Dave is a typical 13-year-old boy. He is courageous, honest, well-intentioned, and has an entrepeneurial spirit. In the first installment he creates his own courier company powered by his bicycle. This serves to establish him as responsible, reliable, and an experienced bicyclist, allowing him to believeably travel from one location to another. He meets Sticky, a gecko lizard, and discovers in the first book of the series that Sticky can speak. He later finds out that Sticky has a habit of stealing small items and is also guilty of both embellishing facts to his advantage and omitting those that are not.
Despite Sticky’s less admirable qualities, his adventures with Dave opposite the exquisitely dastardly villian Damien Black show him to be good at heart. Likewise the friendship between Dave and Sticky continues to grow in each book. Dave learns unconditional acceptance of Sticky’s more frustrating tendencies. Sticky is increasingly genuine in his dealings with Dave as both gradually realize how much their friendship has come to mean to each of them.
The development of the friendship between the two characters is best experienced when reading the books in order but each individual story stands well on its own as well. The three bumbling Bandito Brothers (who are not really brothers and began as a mariachi band, not as bandits per se) who perform as Damien Black’s inept henchmen, along with Rosie, their buck-toothed burro, are also an endless source of humor.
These books are a wonderful combination of humor and adventure. I LOVE reading these stories aloud to an audience as well as independently. I read the first installment aloud to my 4th graders this year and they really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend this series; these stories are the definition of LAUGH-OUT-LOUD.
The Gecko and Sticky actually make their first appearance within the pages of van Draanen’s four book Shredderman series–which I also highly recommend. (There is very little of van Draanen’s work I cannot recommend–only those I have not yet read.) It should be noted that in Shredderman they appear as a fictional superhero and sidekick character whereas in The Gecko & Sticky series the narrator specifically tells us she is relating an ABSOLUTELY TRUE story.
Dave is a typical 13-year-old boy. He is courageous, honest, well-intentioned, and has an entrepeneurial spirit. In the first installment he creates his own courier company powered by his bicycle. This serves to establish him as responsible, reliable, and an experienced bicyclist, allowing him to believeably travel from one location to another. He meets Sticky, a gecko lizard, and discovers in the first book of the series that Sticky can speak. He later finds out that Sticky has a habit of stealing small items and is also guilty of both embellishing facts to his advantage and omitting those that are not.
Despite Sticky’s less admirable qualities, his adventures with Dave opposite the exquisitely dastardly villian Damien Black show him to be good at heart. Likewise the friendship between Dave and Sticky continues to grow in each book. Dave learns unconditional acceptance of Sticky’s more frustrating tendencies. Sticky is increasingly genuine in his dealings with Dave as both gradually realize how much their friendship has come to mean to each of them.
The development of the friendship between the two characters is best experienced when reading the books in order but each individual story stands well on its own as well. The three bumbling Bandito Brothers (who are not really brothers and began as a mariachi band, not as bandits per se) who perform as Damien Black’s inept henchmen, along with Rosie, their buck-toothed burro, are also an endless source of humor.
These books are a wonderful combination of humor and adventure. I LOVE reading these stories aloud to an audience as well as independently. I read the first installment aloud to my 4th graders this year and they really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend this series; these stories are the definition of LAUGH-OUT-LOUD.
August 14, 2013
I listened to the book on CD version of this title. The narration was excellent. The narrator did a wonderful job portraying each character with a unique voice. In particular, I enjoyed his "bwa-hah-hahs" for the villian.
This is the 3rd book in this series which I have read. It is great to see a superhero, if one wants to call the Gecko by that name, who is a Hispanic boy. This is presented matter-of-factly but is nonetheless important.
The premise of the book is very creative. Basically, Dave's gecko, Sticky, gave Dave a wristband into which Aztec ingots fit and give him powers and which he uses to fight crime. There is a main villian who tries to commit nefarious deeds in ingenious ways. In this book, the villian procures a potion from a Gypsy to give himself incredible strength. Dave and Sticky must thwart his attempts to use the potion.
The negative about this series for me is that it uses scatological humor and gross-out humor. I know that this dates me as such humor has been in vogue in children's literature for at least a decade now. But I do feel that it is unnecssary to advance the story line.
Another negative can be the all-knowing narrator. Sometimes the narrator can be overbearing and breaks down the fourth wall a bit much.
In this installment, I enjoyed the discussion about tarantulas and about the origins of Romany, brief as they may be. The plot also was well-thought out. The book is funny as well, even excluding the kind of humor which I do not appreciate.
This is the 3rd book in this series which I have read. It is great to see a superhero, if one wants to call the Gecko by that name, who is a Hispanic boy. This is presented matter-of-factly but is nonetheless important.
The premise of the book is very creative. Basically, Dave's gecko, Sticky, gave Dave a wristband into which Aztec ingots fit and give him powers and which he uses to fight crime. There is a main villian who tries to commit nefarious deeds in ingenious ways. In this book, the villian procures a potion from a Gypsy to give himself incredible strength. Dave and Sticky must thwart his attempts to use the potion.
The negative about this series for me is that it uses scatological humor and gross-out humor. I know that this dates me as such humor has been in vogue in children's literature for at least a decade now. But I do feel that it is unnecssary to advance the story line.
Another negative can be the all-knowing narrator. Sometimes the narrator can be overbearing and breaks down the fourth wall a bit much.
In this installment, I enjoyed the discussion about tarantulas and about the origins of Romany, brief as they may be. The plot also was well-thought out. The book is funny as well, even excluding the kind of humor which I do not appreciate.
March 7, 2016
I really wanted to like this comic adventure, but it doesn't feel as carefully crafted as Van Draanen's 'Shredderman' and 'Sammy Keyes' series. There are occasional vulgar moments which feel like missteps to me, tho I'm sure she's just trying to attract reluctant readers. 4th in a series, I hope the preceding books are better.
May 20, 2010
- this book is a real good book its abotu a boy were he gets a job delivering pakages on a bike so one day he finds this package that didnt look like any other package so what he does is he brakes the rules he opens the package nd then he finds a potion...........
April 30, 2015
I loved this book because it has talking animals and it's a mystery. The book is about a boy named Dave and his "Pet" lizard. Dave and his lizared go on a mysterious adventure to find out what this certain potion does.
November 24, 2010
It was awesome because a henchman to a villain [who is a trained monkey]
April 9, 2016
The cat was really crazy, and all that crazy stuff like the bling was over creative.
November 30, 2012
this book is ok and it a little funny
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews