Desmond and Andres are in for a bike-riding adventure in the second book of the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol chapter book series!
Welcome to Kersville, a town with a spooky history and a collection of ghosts and spirits who are major mischief-makers. Most kids spend their days without ever seeing or dealing with a ghost, but some kids get stuck with a haunt. When that happens, they call Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol. There’s no job too spooky, icky, or risky for Desmond.
I’m not like that at all. My name’s Andres Miedoso. I’m Desmond’s best friend and ghost patrol partner.
So when Desmond and I are called to track down a ghost on wheels, Desmond is sure that ghosts don’t ride bikes. Here’s they float everywhere. Makes sense, right? But if there’s one thing I’ve learned during my Ghost Patrol days, it’s Never tell a ghost what they can or can’t do.
With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.
Andres Miedoso is still afraid of everything as a grown-up, even after all his adventures with Desmond Cole. He lives in New York City with his family, and he remains best friends with Desmond but returns to Kersville only when he's needed.
Another great installment in the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series! This is easily becoming one of my favorite children's book series and I see why kids love them so much. This installment pretty much picks up where the last one left off. Readers get to see Andres' passion for riding bikes and the fun he wants to have at the bike park. Unfortunately, while there Andres learns that there is a particular jump in the park that no one can complete. Of course, it's a ghost who's messing things up. Readers follow Andres and Desmond as they attempt to solve the mystery. The ending is so incredibly cute and charming. What I love most about each one of these books is the illustrations and how Miedoso takes what would typically be scary and makes it fun and interesting for the reader. This one to share with readers young and old. If you haven't thought about giving these a try please consider it! You don't want to miss out on this AMAZING series.
It was actually funny because the ghost was riding a bike and Zax thought ghosts couldn't ride bikes. The story turned out really good. The end was different than I expected. I think it was great to read. I am ready to read the next one.
Miedoso’s second Desmond Cole, Ghost Patrol installment fills that library niche of readers who are ready to move from picture books to chapter books, but still need many illustrations to help them stick with it until the end. It will also work well for those 3rd and 4th graders whose reading skills need much encouragement. Readers will enjoy the bike track action, the unique spin on ghosts and the excellent illustrations. On the downside, most of my 4th graders want scary ghost stories, not ones with trickster and helpful ghosts. And unfortunately, the simple text does not lend itself to much in the way of character development or descriptive language. All in all, parents and librarians will find this series useful for their kids and kids will like the unique perspective on ghosts. (Review of digital advance copy from Edelweiss)
The second book in the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series -- Andres and Desmond solve multiple mini-mysteries, we learn some ghost secrets, we get a look at Kersville's totally spooky antique elementary school, and Desmond *sort of* learns to ride a bike. Quick pace, simple story, great illustrations.
This series is excellent for emerging readers who are building stamina for chapter books. The protagonists are boys of color and the books are not babyish or cute.
This book earns 5 stars because of how awesome it is for struggling readers. My 4th grade class, particularly the boys, tore through these books like they were a bag of potato chips. It was very motivating to my struggling readers to see that Desmond Cole books were what everyone wanted a turn to read!
A brand-new Desmond Cole book, and do ghosts ride bikes or not?
Last year I read the first book in this series and I really liked it. I loved the idea that this town has ghosts, spooky history, and more creepy going-ons. I also loved that a little kid had a ghost hunter job and that kids even called him if there were things happening that weren't natural.
In this book we have tons of bikes. Andres is still getting used to the town and to the ghosts that live in it, and so he is very excited when he discovers a course for bikes. Only... the course is all right at first but there is one big obstacle, The Kicker, where spookyyyyy things happen. If you ride that your bike gets stolen from you and you just fly, floooop in the mud.
Desmond is immediately intrigued by the mystery and of course goes off to discover what is going on. He discover that there is ghostly stuff on the bikes that were taken by whatever is haunting the bike course. More things happened, and they discover what is going on at The Kicker. I was delighted, it was no surprise of course, to no one, but it was still lovely when we finally got to see what was haunting that obstacle.
And then later more spooky things go on and we even see Desmond try out bikes. I was very surprised that he didn't know how to ride a bicycle. Maybe it is because I am from a country where everyone knows how to use a bicycle from a young age.
Eventually we learn that ghosts have all sorts of interesting abilities. How handy. Your ghost is friendly and he can help out.
I also love that people can see the ghosts, or at least the kids can. Which is a change from many books in which people can't see them (adults and children alike) only a couple chosen ones can see them. I do think it was a bit silly the ghosts look so much alike, given that there are so many creative things about the ghosts here I had hoped that the ghosts looked different or that there were different groups of ghosts.
Of course, like the other book, this one is illustrated and not just a few images, oh no, tons and tons of them. And the style is just so fab!
I got more of this series waiting for me, and I do hope I can read them during Halloween. And otherwise I will just see if I can keep them until next year... if I can manage not reading them that long. Teehee.
My review as it appears on my blog, Boys to Books. I received an ARC copy from the publisher
Desmond Cole knows a lot about ghosts. After all, he created the Ghost Patrol. Desmond is sure that ghosts don't ride bikes. Andres doesn't know what to think.
Something strange is going on at the bike park and Andres wants to get down to the bottom of it. Not one kid at the bike park has managed to land the Kicker, the biggest jump at the park. The strangest part about the it is every kid falls off the bike before the jump but their bike keeps going to and crashes on the other side. Andres enlists Desmond's help and they discover a ghost is knocking kids off to ride their bikes over the hill.
The ghost mystery doesn't stop when all of the bikes disappear the next day from school. Andres and Desmond set out to find the culprit. Another surprise about ghosts awaits. The early reader may want to form his own ghost patrol and help solve the mystery. Though lacking some character development and not as strong as the first book in the series, the reader will still enjoy the ghost antics and look forward to the next installment.
In this second installment of the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series--Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes, Do They?--Andres learns a few ghost secrets when something odd happens on the same ramp at the bike park every time a kid tries to make the jump--the kid falls off, and the bike keeps going on its own.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Jax--the friendly ghost that lives in Andres' basement--has a few secrets of his own. What exactly is he doing with Andres' dad's tools, and why isn't the hot water heater working?
It all comes to a head when all of the bikes at the elementary school take off on their own, and Desmond (who doesn't ride bikes) has to take out after them on a child's bike complete with training wheels as the stampede of bikes race through the woods back to the bike park and that suspicious ramp.
Will Desmond and Andres uncover the ghost secrets at play?
“It was the craziest, coolest, creepiest thing ever! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Andres is still getting used to this new town, Kersville, his family has moved to. He’s grateful for his new friend, Desmond Cole, but he can’t get Desmond interested in riding bikes with him. “I don’t do bikes ... because I like ghosts.” So Andres heads to Kersville Bike Park on his own. He’s anxious to try its crazy racetrack. When he arrives, another boy warns him “Whatever you do, don’t ride that last jump. It’s called the Kicker. Nobody ever lands it.” Of course, Andres tries it and is thrown from his bike. But there’s something strange about how it happens and Andres is pretty sure there’s a ghostly influence about. Time to call in Desmond!
Well I thought this book was good because it was two things and they were both things that Desmond and Andres liked. I think it's good because, well, mostly, everything.
The main characters were Desmond and Andres. This book was about Andres and his bike. He loved to ride his bike and Desmond was more interested in ghosts than bikes. And then at the end, Desmond did like riding bikes but all the people who rode the bikes on the really crazy bike track never made the kicker and then they found out why. My favorite part of the book was probably when they found out that a ghost named Hall was haunting the kicker so that's why they weren't able to get the kicker right.
I think people who like ghosts and bikes, mostly any person really would like this book.
This is a great addition to any library or classroom. It is the quintessential "boy book" with it's haunted town and bmx bike park. The author does a good job of not recapping the first book. As this book (#2) is th efirst I have read, I don't feel like I received any spoilers and I didn't feel lost, though there were a few things in the beginning I would have liked a grip on before reading further. It is light and funny and devoid of grossness (THANK-YOU) and the illustrations are fun. I liked the plot and the world-building, though I would say the pacing bothered me and it was somewhat anti-climactic. But overall, highly recommended for this age group.
Fun, quick mystery story. Great for students who need something longer than a picture book but not a full novel yet.
2nd in the series - but you could read it as a single - there is a history between the main character and his neighbor - but the story still stands on it's own.
Desmond and Andres find a ghost who is haunting bikes at a bike park because he wants to feel the thrill of riding one and another ghost who wants to help people fix bikes. They explain to the ghosts that they're scaring people and the ghosts apologize for their behavior. The ghost patrol devises a creative solution through which the ghosts and humans and play at the bike park in harmony.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Andres moves with his family all the time. He has just moved to Kersville. It's haunted by many ghosts but no worries. Desmond Cole his new friend is an expert at ghost problem solving and compromise. When Andres tries the new bike race track he's sure the final jump is haunted so Desmond comes to the rescue.
I actually read about half of this with Berry! Perfectly ghostly read for Halloween-month, though not at all spooky or scary. There was precious little Desmond for the series being named after him, but the increased Andres and Zax were great! 👻
Andres loves his bike. Then he and Desmond encounter something spooky at the bike track. Good for young readers ready to have a little more text and a little bit less illustration per page.
My nephew loves riding his bike, so I think he is really going to enjoy this one. The characters are fun and entertaining and the storylines are not scary.