Glitch: Book 7

Aldo Zelnick #7

by Karla Oceanak, Kendra Spanjer (Illustrations)

The Zelnick family likes Christmas a lot, but Aldo—whose plan to get presents galore may be running into a glitch—does not. He thinks that “giving being better than receiving” is gobbledygook and doesn’t understand what the “Adopt-a-Family Tree” at the mall has to do with him. Guinness World Records, holiday gnomes, a glass-blowing grandma, and generous helpings of goofiness abound in this seventh installment in the series. A vocabulary-building glossary of fun and challenging words that start with the letter G, such as gumption, gloat, and gadzooks, is also featured.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

Karla Oceanak is the author of the Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel Series, which has been honored with a Colorado Book Award, a Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Regional Book Award, an IndieNext selection, and other accolades. She has worked as a writer and editor for more than twenty years and has authored more than 100 books, some of which have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Hebrew. Karla and her husband, Scott, live in Colorado with their three teenage boys in a house strewn with ping-pong balls, cell phone chargers, video games, books, and dirty socks.

Reviews

[American Mensa]

When I first looked through this book, I didn’t think it would be good for me, because it had too many mean words in it like “Greedy McSneedy,” but it turned out to be wonderful. This book is about a boy who feels the presents he has been getting for Christmas aren’t good enough and not fair with what his brother has been getting. Then he comes up with a plan to make his aunts and uncles buy him lots of fancy, expensive presents, and he calls his plan ‘The Triple G.’ There is really no one I couldn’t recommend this book for. It’s a really funny book and I liked everything about it. The pictures were great and I really enjoyed reading it. And “Greedy McSneedy” is pretty funny, anyway.
Aubrey L., 8, Greater NYC Mensa

[Mary T]

I'm reading these in alphabetical order, which meant I read this holiday-themed one in the middle of summer. Oh well. I do enjoy these books and of course the vocab interspersed throughout!

[Katie Fitzgerald]

In Glitch, Christmas is coming, and Aldo decides to maximize his chances of receiving all the gifts he wants by composing a very long Christmas list and sending a piece of it to each of his family members, including his aunts and uncles. To satisfy Griswold, the gnome his parents have always put out to keep an eye on Aldo and his brother and report back to Santa, Aldo also becomes heavily focused on giving gifts, figuring this will provide the good Christmas karma needed to ensure he will receive everything he asked for. There are a few glitches in his plans, though, and what he actually finds under the tree on Christmas morning is a huge surprise.

Highlights from Glitch:

I loved getting a glimpse into the Zelnick family’s holiday traditions, and I really enjoyed the way Bee used Griswold to try and guilt Aldo into doing the right thing.

There is a wonderful textual and visual reference to the Grinch on page 28. Aldo talks about having “A wonderful, awful idea.” and the image beneath this sentence shows Aldo with decidedly Grinchy facial features. This series does a consistently wonderful job of not beating jokes to death, and this subtle allusion works so well.

Aldo, who knows very little about the Jewish religion, joins his best friend for Hanukkah, and he describes the experience in perfect child-like terms, but without being offensive. I could imagine a kid like Aldo thinking of yarmulkes as bowl hats and calling dreidels weird, but I appreciated his realistic reaction to learning about his best friend’s traditions.

Each chapter begins with a picture of Aldo’s chocolate Advent calendar, with funny commentary from his gerbil and snake. These pictures keep the reader informed about where Aldo is in time, and also serve to number the chapters. I thought this was very clever, and kids who have Advent calendars of their own will certainly relate to the growing anticipation as each little window is opened.

[Mary]

Glitch by Karla Oceanak
151 pgs.
Target audience: Ages 7 to 13
Rating: Dragon

In the seventh volume of this alphabetical adventure,
ten-year-old Aldo Zelnick finds there are far too many glitches in his plans for a perfect Christmas. His wish list grows rapidly to include items he saw in a catalog including a snow cone machine and an inflatable backyard log flume. Though every time he turns around it seems a certain gnome Christmas decoration named Griswold is lurking about. Aldo is sure he’s reporting back to Santa, so he puts a new plan into action to give, give and give galore in order to get his awesome presents. The voice of Aldo rings true and his perspective on life will appeal to both kids and adults and make them laugh out loud. The hilariously clever illustrations pair nicely with Aldo’s unique sense of humor. This is an excellent choice for vocabulary building for each volume contains a glossary. This installment features words beginning with the letter “G” indicated by an asterisk. This series is highly recommended to fans of “Big Nate” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” (This book provided for review by Children's Lit - www.childrenslit.com)

[Jill]

I had one worry when I started reading this one--that the book would "out" Santa like The Popularity Papers does. After all, Aldo is in 5th grade and my 5th grader knows, but my 3rd grader does not, so I was a little worried I'd have to make something up on the fly if that were the case. Luckily, I didn't have to and I think that Oceanak handles this beautifully--there's a little hint that Aldo might not really believe near the beginning when he writes his first letter to Santa, but you wouldn't really catch it unless you're "in the know." So for the older kids, it still works, but doesn't ruin it for the younger ones--and we all know that kids always want to read about kids older then them.

[Lynn]

Humorous, good addition to chapter books on the holiday - there aren't many good ones for elementary. Clever how so many words starting with G are used throughout and are explained in the 'Gallery". Adds a touch of interest and provides an example for how to be creative in one's writing. Mostly probable events, I love Griswold! Everyone should have a Griswold.

[Brenda]

I like Aldo more and more. He keeps on thinking and working things out - one problem and one plan at a time. He makes me smile - he and his friends make a realistic mirror for readers to see themselves in - or their friends.