Never Swim in Applesauce

Roscoe Riley Rules #4

by Katherine Applegate, Brian Biggs (Illustrations)

The fourth book in a hilarious chapter book series about an accidental rule breaker from Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal–winning and bestselling author of The One and Only Ivan , Crenshaw, and Wishtree . Roscoe’s first grade class is going on their first field trip ever to an apple orchard! It’s so much fun picking apples and seeing how applesauce is made. Ms. Diz, his teacher, expects the class to be on their very best behavior. And Roscoe tries—he really does—but somehow he still manages to land in a very sticky situation. Roscoe and his comical misadventures will appeal to fans of Megan McDonald’s Stink series; Nancy Krulik’s George Brown, Class Clown series; Rebecca Elliott’s Owl Diaries series; and Dan Gutman’s My Weirder School series.

Genres: Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Juvenile, Chapter Books, 2nd Grade, Fiction

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).

She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roscoe Riley is ready for another adventure, though this one may be his stickiest caper yet. When Ms. Diz announces that they will be taking a class trip to the apple orchard, Roscoe cannot think of anything other than amazing times ahead. He’s also been lucky enough to borrow his sister’s magic fortune telling ball, a toy that has an uncanny ability to tell the future. While at the orchard, Roscoe and his team locate a large apple, one that will surely be the talk of the entire class. However, during a tour of the facility after picking apples, Roscoe and the class bully, Wyatt, get into a saucy bit of trouble that lands Roscoe firmly in timeout. Neo loved the piece, perfect for those who are sweet on reading. If you have a young reader who likes a little adventure and a troublesome protagonist, this is the series for you!

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roscoe does it again. The perspective of a 1st grade boy is enlightening and brings back memories for all of us who have had such a boy in our lives. Love how he refers to a normal day starting with the Pledge of a Wee Gent. His apple orchard adventure does not disappoint either. Now we know how a kid can end up covered in applesauce and then in the time out chair. It is so hard to obey all the rules and keep everybody happy including little sister Hazel. Looking forward to Roscoe's next adventure.

[Megan W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a palate cleanser cause the other book I'm reading is pissing me off. This book is not as great as "Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs" but still a good option for first graders learning to read.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I'd check out this series for its humor potential and it was okay. It was cute and funny but the audio reader seemed to make it a little too... cutsey(?) for me to stand. It's pretty appropriate for it's target audience- five and six year olds- but seems to have a pretty narrow interest level. Roscoe is a first grader and would likely not appeal to older children. While it does contain information and a moral/lesson, the focus is really on the humor and adventure.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why I enjoy these books so much. My daughter laughed a lot during this one. Roscoe and his first grade class go on their first field trip and learn how an apple farm operates. And also how an apple farm should not operate. The characters are so likeable, and I appreciate that the families went back to the apple farm to make amends for the applesauce 😂

[Joey Gremillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read

Highly recommended for readers who are graduating from Gutmsn'a My Weird School series. Which is strange to say since Gutman's characters are older! Applegates writing is much more sophisticated.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a loud to 6s. Kids liked it. They think it's really funny that every book starts with Roscoe in time out.

[Alireza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book!

[Wolfgang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.

[Acelynn Ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny!!!

[Rylan Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a funny book,

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey it's me Roscoe and I'm in time out again but this time it's for a good cost. At school my teacher Mrs. Diz made an announcement and said that on Friday we are going to an apple orchard. Everyone was so excited. What Roscoe got home is little sister Hazel had a fortune and Roscoe want to borrow it. Hazel said no he begged and begged finally Hazel let Roscoe borrow the ball until The end of Friday. On Friday they left to the apple orchard and when they got there a tour guide show them how to pick apples and they wash them to make applesauce. At the end of Apple picking Wyatt wanted the fortune ball and started chasing Roscoe do the whole applesauce factory then the ball fell inside applesauce and Roscoe did not have a choice but to jump in and get it. Why you helped out too but then they got into trouble. That's the whole story hope you enjoyed it.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My Thoughts} – Another tale from Roscoe Riley via the time out chair.

In this book his class went on a trip to an apple orchard. Roscoe really wanted to be a good boy on the trip. He’d borrowed his little sisters fortune telling ball so that he would know that it was suppose to be a good trip. The ball claimed he was going to have a great time. He was hoping the ball was right.

However, him and Wyatt end up doing some things that aren’t good and they both end up in trouble. The first thing they do is compete to see who can pick the biggest apple. The second is the end up jumping in the bin with the applesauce while it is being made. When Roscoe gets home he ends up in time out.

I highly recommend this book for any child that is having a difficult time engaging in the book world. It has a nice lesson about following the rules and it has humor, which makes for a nice read.

[lovescats · Rating 5 out of 5]

very fun to read,roscoe asks his sister to borrow her favroite ball they call it "magic telling ball".he takes it to his feild trip and wyatt fights roscoe for it and it falls in applesauce and they have to jump in and save it and when they got it they got in lots of trouble!the magic telling ball could no longer work so every time roscoe trys to borrow it his dad says "try agin later"because thats what the ball says when you shake it. it don`t answer any thing else so he is in time out again!

[Barb Keister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking forward to introducing this series to my second graders. Seems like there are so many fun series with girl main characters so think the boys will be happy to learn about this one. This one is the fourth book in the Roscoe Riley series. Each book begins with Roscoe in the time-out chair as he tells the story of how he ended up there once again.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for my siblings when we were younger and eventually ended up reading it myself. There's something about children's books that's just really nice. The voice of the narrator, Roscoe, is good because he thinks he's doing good things when he's actually just getting himself into the trouble.
I wouldn't mind reading more of these if anyone left a stack of them on a table. :)

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish we had discovered this early reader sooner. Roscoe is reminiscent of Junie B.Jones in the way he regards the world, interacts with peers, and speaks (funnest, etc.). My youngest was mildly amused by it but I think it would have been perfect in K or 1st grade.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

We (my 6 year old and I) LOVE LOVE LOVE this cute series! Katherine Applegate has such a knack for story telling. We loved learning about Roscoe's latest shenanigans!! What a great find! We only wish there were more!! ;)

[Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part was that Roscoe Riley got the magic ball from behind the refrigerator. And that he swam in applesauce. Roscoe Riley is Amazing. My least favorite thing is that the magic ball got all mushy. I want my friends to read this book!

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously? Why are these books so hillarious? I think it's the dialog. Applegate must have listened to a lot of first-graders talk to each other...

[Jsagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for readers transitioning to chapter books--Roscoe gets himself in a lot of predicaments which make for entertaining reading for all children especially boys.

[Janderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really love these books!

[Michelle Nero · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little series of books that offer our transitioning chapter book readers an opportunity to successfully read silly tales about a boy who seems to get into some trouble.

[Toni Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I preread some of my kids scholastic reading counts books, to try to help them better understand it. This series is definitely one of the very best, these books are great.

[Toni Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I preread some of my kids scholastic reading counts books, to try to help them better understand it. This series is definitely one of the very best, these books are great.

[Colleenish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read. My little brother loved it.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Roscoe Riley books crack my 7 year-old and me up. They're so funny and this one was one of my favorites of the series. Great fun, kid-friendly humor!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roscoe Riley makes my kindergartener giggle when we read it together. I'm going to pick up the earlier books in the series now.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off maybe a tad slower than the first in the series, a tiny bit more educational, but in the end still a fun and entertaining read!

[Leslie Platt]

Cute book!