Loot by Jude Watson

It's really pretty cool to have your child recommend a book to you.  My son is a big fan of the 39 Clues, also written by Jude Watson.  He bought this at the Scholastic warehouse sale and told me I should read it first.  How could I say no?

I'm very glad I didn't say no!  I really liked this book, as both a reader and a teacher-librarian.  First, it's a young young adult book, geared for grades 4-7 but definitely readable for younger grades (my son is going into 3rd) and totally appropriate for older but reluctant or struggling readers.  Second, the main character is a boy, also a good thing for our male teen readers who want to see themselves in the literature.  Last, it's just a good story!

March McQuin is the son of a jewel thief.  One night a heist goes terribly wrong and March's father is killed.  He lives just long enough to give March veiled instructions for another quest.  Little does March know just how big the heist his father had planned is...

Along the way, March will find a long-lost twin sister, an aunt he never knew he had (and might not want to know), a network of friends of his father's in the criminal world, and two new (his first real) friends from the social services department.

Totally a good read!

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