Wednesday, January 2, 2013

The Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table


This month I read The Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka. It was published in 1991. This book is over 20 years old, but it’s one of the funniest books I’ve read.

The story is simple. There are three boys: Joe, Fred, and Sam. They are normal boys who love baseball, magic, and junk food. It’s Joe’s birthday, and he receives a present from his uncle, Joe the Magnificent. It’s a magic book. With a puff of green smoke, the book transports the boys to Camelot. They defeat an evil knight (hilariously), save the castle from a giant and a dragon, and become knights. They enjoy their time in Camelot, but they miss cheeseburgers and TV. Merlin gets annoyed with the boys after their homemade baseball breaks a few potions in his tower. He sends them home with the same book that transported them there in the first place. No time has passed at Joe’s birthday party. His mom was mid-sentence when they left, and she finishes her sentence when they return.
 

The Time Warp Trio is a series of books. I have to read a few more because this first one is that good. I HIGHLY recommend this book to 2nd or 3rd graders.
 

List of Recommended Books by Grade:
2nd grade –
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table

3rd grade –
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4th grade –
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden
The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5th grade –
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6th grade –
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.

7th grade and up –
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright