Squish #3: The Power of the Parasite by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Squish is not looking forward to the summer. His mom made him choose between Ballet Class or Swim Class, and he chose the pool. (His friends chose ballet.) He's has some bad experiences in the water before, so he's not that keen on getting 'riding the waves.' He soon makes a new friend, a hydra named Basil. They get along great and Hydra loves to make jokes and play pranks...but Squish doesn't always think they're that funny. Is this summer going to be a big disaster?

If you're not reading the Squish series, you should definitely start now. It has a likeable everyman (or everyamoeba?) main character, lots of humour, and situations that will resonate with young readers. There are meta-fictional elements that will appeal to kids with a certain sense of humour. Squish himself is a reader and there's a story-within-a-story as his comic book parallels the main storyline. The short sentences and large amounts of space on the page (joined with the fun illustration styles) will make this a popular pick for new readers and kids who are transitioning out of reading picture books. You don't have to have read the first two books in the series to be able to follow along with this storyline, but when a series is as good as this one is, why wouldn't you read them?

 For more information about Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm, check out their websites.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Random House Kids' Books.


Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Squish #2: Brave New Pond by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Babymouse #1: Queen of the World! by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka