28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6

by Catherine Austen

Dave Davidson's heart is in the right place. He believes it's his mission to cure his friends of their fears. But his solutions are hare-brained at best and often come with unintended and hilarious consequences. Afraid of dancing at the school dance? Dave's got ways to fix sprain an ankle, eat expired food to get sick, or even get yourself suspended for a few days. Have a public speaking phobia? Dave can fix that for you get laryngitis, forge a note from a therapist, or get your friends to hold up cue cards.

This hilarious new novel will appeal to reluctant tween readers, especially boys.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

I grew up in Kingston, Ontario. I studied political science at Queen's University and environmental studies at York before moving to the Ottawa area to work in the conservation movement. I now write freelance (reports as well as books) from my home in Quebec, where I live with my husband and two sons. I love wildlife, music, museums, and books and I'm grateful that my life is full of all of these.

I read all types of books but usually forget to review them. I'll only post about books I like here (hence the high average rating).

Reviews

[Moon Shine Art Spot ~ Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book description:

Dave Davidson's heart is in the right place. He believes it's his mission to cure his friends of their fears. But his solutions are hare-brained at best and often come with unintended and hilarious consequences. Afraid of dancing at the school dance? Dave's got ways to fix that: sprain an ankle, eat expired food to get sick, or even get yourself suspended for a few days. Have a public speaking phobia? Dave can fix that for you too: get laryngitis, forge a note from a therapist, or get your friends to hold up cue cards. This hilarious new novel will appeal to reluctant tween readers, especially boys.


REVIEW:

This book is one of the most inspiring reads for 6th grade age kids that I have ever read. The story
Is filled with lots if silliness, but also very important lessons about facing fears and looking to the future with a positive attitude. No reason to stress or worry about everything is demonstrated via the silly binds the various characters find themselves helping each other through.

I am very happy to have received this advanced readers copy for review, and I can not wait to share it with my own son and other readers. The ups and downs of each character's phobias are entertaining, and the children need some help in the ethics area at the beginning. They all come out in the bright, even with their "different" zany teacher leading the lessons.

I can not say enough good things about the creativity and the enthusiasm that encourages readers to do their best and cut down on the stress and worry. I love that the group works together, as friends should, to solve most of the issues that cause one friend or the other to panic ... Like dancing, public speaking, fearing dogs, having a negative outlook for the future, etc.

This is not a "self help" book at all, but it us very helpful as an entertaining story that will lead young readers in all of the right directions in grade 6 and in their adult life. A positive attitude and positive thoughts and actions change the world and that is an important lesson to learn at a young age!!

[MrsK Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you ready for some fun... this book will not disappoint you! Right from the beginning, you will delight in Dave. His many ways to overcome fears is the topic of everyone's conversations. Not only does Dave have an odd punk-rocking teacher (Mr. Papadakis), he is just handed a flyer about the back-to-school dance. Now, I don't know about you, but school dances can be a bit intimidating and for Dave and Eric it becomes a fear that begins rolling out of control. First Dave decides to practice a few dance moves with his dog, Maisy.... "She flattened her ears and tucked her tail, deeply embarrassed to be dancing with a human. She jumped away at the first loud drum roll." Next up is to practice with his friends. He tries to help Eric but "...It's painful to watch!" So Eric must find a way to conquer his fear of dancing that won't involve a long healing process. When all else fails, the guys decide to learn a few steps as a group effort. How the dance goes will be for you to discover.

For Andrew's fear of public speaking (without throwing up) is not only genius... it's hysterical. I can't even give details with out fits of hilarity bursting forth. Seriously, as an educator... this would be one of those life-long memories that you share over and over. Let's just say that with the visual, with the intensity of the moment, and the innocent desire to help a friend... everyone in the classroom is treated to the best speech presentation about our digestion system.

Next up is Vanessa's fear of dogs. I get this one. If you have ever had a doberman licking your neck, well let me say it was not on the top of my list as the best moment of my life. Dave decides there must be certain stages for this fear to be faced and forced away. It doesn't look good when he helps Vanessa to the final stage, his wonderful dog Maisy gets the fear "screamed" out of her and Vanessa has decided to walk away with her fear. That is until Dave discovers the truth about Robbie's dog.

Finally, Dave is ready to help Claire's fear of the future. This is such a well organized, soundly developed, and completely entertaining (did I forget to tell you that Dave and his friends have a band...) closure to this book.

This book is a perfect read-aloud for any 3rd-5th classroom. Every Librarian must share these hysterical moments of inquiry and cause/effect. If you are reading this by yourself, beware you will be laughing out loud and trying to share with anyone you can!

Enjoy, MrsK http://mrskbookstogo.blogspot.com/

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud so much that I got teary-eyed reading this book. Dave Davidson and his friends miss their sweet teacher, Ms. Samson, from fifth grade. This year they have Mr. Papadakis, who is also in a punk rock band and spends most of his time on his cell phone. Throughout the year Dave helps each of his friends to overcome their fears. Eric is afraid to dance in front of everyone at the Back-to-School Dance. Andrew is so afraid of public speaking that he throws up and their class is assigned to do a speech in October. Vanessa is afraid of dogs, so her boyfriend Robbie makes Dave help her overcome the fear so she will be able to visit his house. And in December, while they are working on the science fair, he finds out that Claire is scared of the future and tackles that with her. The therapy methods Dave uses, and the results of his assistance are hilarious. For instance, part of helping Vanessa involves letting his Burmese mountain dog lick her face - which sends her shrieking out of the house. When he's not practicing psychology without a license, Dave is busy with the Nationals, a band he and his friends form. They only sing variations of the Canadian National Anthem. His friend Eric videos everything and posts it to YouTube.

There are so many true middle school moments in the story - the dance, the science fair, snow days, public speaking, avoiding homework...even annoying big brothers. Middle grade readers will recognize their own school-related fears and see the faces of classmates when they try to visualize the characters. Older readers will look back at their own middle school experience and wish it had been as entertaining as this book. Folks who enjoy the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Origami Yoda, or the Hank Zipzer books will love 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Ionia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is full of charming moments with the main character and his friends. The narrator's voice fits in keeping with the expected maturity of the age group chosen and the consistent misuse of "big words" to describe events in the story was quite a lot of fun.

This book does have a bit of "gross humour" in it, but nothing that your child couldn't come up with on their own. I was entertained by this story, although I do have to say, I think I liked the main character's best friend Dave even more than I liked him.

As with other similar books, this story focuses mainly on the school adventures and every day life of the MC and his friends. They go from one minor drama to the next, with some giggles along the way.

This would be a good book to choose for a child that struggles to stay interested in books. The humour and short chapters will no doubt keep them reading and feeling as if they are accomplishing something.

I'd recommend this to parents and teacher's of children in 4th-7th grade. It was fun!

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Netgalley.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6; the cover gives the appearance of a humorous self-help book, although the book description does specify that it's a novel. In the end, it's definitely a novel, and the "tricks" are restricted to chapter headings.

While the plot is a somewhat standard surviving-middle-school plot, Catherine Austen pulls it off with more humor than most. 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6 is the first book that's made me literally laugh out loud in quite some time -- and I laughed so hard I snorted! I particularly enjoyed the public speaking chapter, especially the "devil voice" scenes and the final presentation.

Definitely a good read for your more reluctant middle-grade readers.

Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title-28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6
Author-Catherine Austen
Publisher-James Lorimer
ISBN-9781459406179
Copyright date-2014
Price-$12.95
Paperback
Pages-188
Type of Book – Fiction
Grade Range –5, 6, 7
Use- Recreation
Type Size-Average
Format –Chapter
Illustration Type- Line Drawings
Illustration Rating- Good
Genres- Humor
Literary Merit-Good
Characterization- Good
Recommended
Summary-Dave is a sixth grader whose mission in life to help others face their fears. He helps his friends face their fears of dancing, public speaking, dancing, and dogs. Dave is also part of an small band that finds new and interesting ways to play “O Canada”, Canada’s national anthem.
Evaluation- This is a great book for middle school students to read. Girls and boys will enjoy the humor. The characters are realistic and kids will be able to relate to them.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, funny and totally age-appropriate. I think the best readers for this book are grade 6 boys, and maybe even a few girls. Trick #2: “Girls like boys who like to dance,” leads 6th grader Dave to cure his friend of his fear of dancing. This leads to other cures and more tips spanning the entire school year. Some favorites:
#9 - “If it’s exciting, it’s probably not allowed in school.”
#25 -“At any given moment around the world, something terrifying is happening.”
This review is based on an ARC provided to me by the publisher.

[Sarah Capps · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do think this will be good for young boys to read - it has some good role models and also some great examples of how not to act. For the most part however, I had trouble keeping my characters straight from one section to the next. With such a large cast of recurring characters it is important to make sure each has a defining characteristic, which I had trouble finding for some.

So in short, great for youths, not so great for adult readers.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Davidson is in grade 6 and becomes the go-to guy when his friends need to overcome their phobias. Although not a psychologist or expert, Dave uses the internet to find solutions in between bouts of video-gaming. Although the outcomes are never quite what he expects, he manages to leave the impression that there is power in positive thinking. Middle graders will enjoy the fast pace and accessible storyline.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to you try and help friends with all kinds of fears? That's Dave's mission in Sixth grade as he tries to help his friends and friends of friends overcome all kinds of crazy fears - is he successful? Read this and find out!

For me, the humor never really worked here - if Dave had narrated this, it might have worked better.

[Daisey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun read that I think middle to upper elementary students will enjoy. It started out as just a humorous story of a sixth grade boy's attempts to help his friends face their fears, but I loved that it also shared a message about facing your fears and helping others.

* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively, authentic tale of a sixth grade year with a slightly off-kilter teacher. While a few of the details are not quite right, the author has the tone of sixth grade down, while still going easy on the snark. Being set in Canada will make it a little more interesting for American readers, and it will appeal to both boys and girls.

[Robyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious story about a group of Canadian 6th grade boys and their school adventures. Dave's goal in life is to save his friends from their various fears. Unfortunately this task is easier said than done. Dave and his friends are a little misguided in their efforts but their intentions are always honorable. A truly fun read.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? This book made me laugh out loud. I loved that some humour was obvious, while some was subtle. I loved that it made me picture with great clarity the physically humourous moments (moonwalking, anyone?), and that I related so well to the main character. This book was just plain fun, and for that, I give it 5 stars.

[Katarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and funny kids book. The book revolves around a group of children confronting their fears and overcoming them.

It speaks to anti-bullying, standing up for yourself, facing your fears, being brave, and sticking together.

A great message conveyed through a fun story.

[Heatherly Hardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this story! A group of 6th graders works together to get out of the things 6th graders find least desirable - speaking in public, dancing, etc. It's a cute read that upper elementary and middle school students are sure to identify with and enjoy!

[Kati Polodna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for tween boys! Silly and fun. (Thank you NETGALLEY for the ARC!)

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle school fiction. Read it in one sitting. Buying it for my school library.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this book. This is a great book for 6th graders and soon to be 6th graders. Such a great book, that is funny and quirky.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed and laughed and laughed. What a fun story! It will bring to life the tears, the fears, the terror, and the fun of 6th grade.