Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet, by Kirk Scroggs

All the talk of the Muppets hosting the Oscars (which would be so cool!), and the upcoming Muppet movie, has reminded me of a book I received a little while ago--Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet, by Kirk Scroggs (Little, Brown, elementry/middle grade, 240 pages)

Sixth-grader Danvers idolizes Gonzo (obsessively so!). When his talent show act, a death-defying hula-hooping-ninja tribute to his hero, falls to his classmates' emo boy band (Emo Shun), he is crushed. Why does no-one else appreciate the wonder that is Gonzo?

But then Danvers is given the chance of a lifetime when he wakes up as a muppet! Some aspects of having an over sized head and scrawny limbs are difficult to get used to, but having the chance to actually work with Gonzo, as his official assistant, no less, is a dream come true...

And alongside the full cast of the muppet show, complete with bad puns, and lots of meep-ing from Beaker, Danvers lives muppet life to the fullest.

The book is full of black and white notebook style drawings, mostly illustrations from the author, but some from Danvers himself (ala Diary of a Whimpy Kid). They add to the wackiness, and will probably add appeal to the book among its target audience---the seven or eight year old boy who wants something that's pure goofiness to read, and who likes his books heavy on the graphic side of things!

That's not me (surprise!)---there was t0o much muppet zaniness and not quite enough solid story for my taste (and I am also the wrong reader for this book because I never liked Gonzo at all, for a variety of reasons). But I did enjoy many of the bad puns, and it was fun to see so many of my favorite muppets! (Beaker in particular).

I think this book would work for those who haven't had much exposure to the Muppets, but I also think it's more fun if you know who all these crazy characters are. So I'd suggest watching a couple of episodes before reading the book.

Here are my two favorites.



and




And here are other reviews of Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet, at GreenBeanTeenQueen, and another at Booking Mama.

Edited to add: I took this over to give to my local library yesterday, and the librarian was awfully pleased to have it--a young patron had been raving about it to her just the other day!

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)