The Fire-Breathing Ferret Fiasco

13th Street #2

by David Bowles, Shane Clester (Illustrations)

A silly and spooky new highly illustrated series that’s perfect for fans of Eerie Elementary and Notebooks of Doom, featuring art on every page and fun activities at the end of each book!

Cousins Dante, Malia, and Ivan are happy to be back in their home town. But then their school bus takes a wrong turn and they end up on 13th Street! There are new monsters to fight, but at least they have their friend Susana and their bus driver to help them. Will the gang ever make it to their first day of class?  

Each story in this hilarious and scary new series from award-winning author David Bowles is designed to set independent readers up for success—with short, fast-paced chapters, art on every page, and progress bars at the end of each chapter!

Genres: Fantasy, Chapter Books, Horror, Childrens, Adventure

96 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2020

About the author

David Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from south Texas. He has written several award-winning titles, most notably THEY CALL ME GÜERO and MY TWO BORDER TOWNS

His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature.

Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects. In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. He is presently the president of the Texas Institute of Letters.

Reviews

[David]

Just a quick reminder of the fur cycle of the lore-based Cozamah as depicted in this book:

*Reddish-grey fire-breathing weasel monsters ("ferrets") = HEAT, agency and action from dangerous tricksters

*Ermine weasel monsters (snow-white "ferrets") --> COLD, docility and inaction from tame, frigid monsters

The unlucky / lucky dichotomy mentioned by the kids' bus driver is common among many Native American nations. Consider these two images from the book:





There is no attempt—in the images, text, or creators' hearts—to portray white as "better" than reddish-grey.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two boys and a girl their all cousins. They're on an adventure to go back home after they traveled to the future and try going back to the past. They meet zombie's that turn out to be them selves in the future and they battle huge weasels that breath fire. This is the second book out of three book's.

[Kaitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed book one in the series and was excited to give this one a try, as 13th Street seems like a great next-read for fans of The Notebook of Doom, Eerie Elementary, and other silly-spooky young readers. But the mythos behind the villains of this story concerns me. Implying that, in order to defeat the ferrets, the children need to “turn them white” as white ermine are gentle while darker ferrets are villainous is a dangerously charged message to share with children who are already surrounded by racist messages. While I’m sure that wasn’t the author’s intent, even if this IS something he drew from folklore, I can’t quite get behind this title in the series.

[Nathan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun new book series. We’ve read the first two so far and my kids love it. It’s spooky and silly and the characters are great. The illustration is fantastic and lends so much to the story. Also a great intro to chapter books. Highly recommend!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book with my seven and ten year old. It’s a fun adventure with fun art. We’re ready for the next one.

[Satangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Source: Overdrive / Libby App / VBPL
Format: Ebook

Rating: 4 (was leaning a little toward a 4.5)

This time around, it got a little bit more exciting for Malia, Dante, and Ivan than just going to school.

Ounce again, creepy and suspicous old woman, Dona Chabela appeared.
Taking one detour can make things go oh so wrong.
They unexpectedly ended up back on 13th Street again, but this time accompanied with Malia's best Friend, Susana Leal ("Suse," little Sister to Robby) and Robby (Bus Driver and older brother to Suse).

Fire-Breathing Ferrets, Zombie Family, Dona Chabela (who is she really?), time distortion, a supposed "Quiet Prince," and more mysteries/discoveries about 13th street.

Its a good idea to pay attention to some of the discovered details as it may lead to some hints about predicting what is actually going on with these cousins and how it relates to 13th Street.
Especially, since 13th Street only seems to attract Malia, Dante, and Ivan. While, other people don't know or forget about it.

I like seeing the encouraged character pharases and chapter markers after each chapter ends.
The story progession is making me more curious to read what will happen next and the activities at the end of the book are great learning tools. I recommend this chapter book to kids 6-8 years old and preteens (possible 10-12 year olds). Its fun to read together or solo.

The "Act" portion of the activity called for "sweet icy treats."
This brought back fond childhood memories of learning how to make simple popsicle or ice treats with just using an ice tray, favorite drink (juice or smoothie), plastic wrap, and some toothpicks.
It is low cost, easy to make, and shareable with others.

[Alan Nunez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book two of a fantastic new series from a gifted writer of Mexican-American descent. David Bowles find authentic youth voices like many good YA writers, but he captures their Latinx personalities as well. If you’re kids want a fun read that will have them wanting more, and if you’re eager to have them engage in thoughtful and culturally responsible reading, this is your series.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/20/2024 ~ A fun addition to the early chapter book collection. I appreciate the inclusion of some Spanish.

(NOTE: I could do without HarperCollins' "reading cheerleading" aspects of word counts & chapter counts. To be fair, I'm not the target demographic for this book; I'm curious how kid readers respond to this feature.)

[Jamie Ofelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son LOVES this book!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. The way they solved it was very neat.

[Marcia Van Camp]

Eldest read

[Lori Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

wasn't really impressed but I'm sure my students will love it.