Recommended for ages 9-12
I am writing one review for both of these books as they are by the same author and from the same series.
Fred and Anthony are two kids with one big wish: find someone to do their homework for them so they can relax, eat Chex Mix and Pez, and watch horror movies. In their first adventure, Escape from the Netherworld, they decide to make money so that they can afford to pay someone; because they already have a reputation for botched and unfinished jobs im their own neighborhood, they strike out for a new neighborhood and end up discovering The Netherworld when Anthony falls through a bathroom portal. Luckily, Fred has the foresight to grab a Guide to the Netherworld to help them navigate their way past evil dentists, deceptively dressed werewolves, and Count Dracula himself. They make their way back home only to discover that a ghost has followed them – so they hire him as a ghost writer (get it?) to write about their adventures. Their get rich quick plan is under way!
Their third adventure, Fred & Anthony Meet the Heinie Goblins from the Black Lagoon, catches readers up on the first two books, so readers can come in on any book in the series and not feel lost. Fred and Anthony are sent off to Camp Plenty Wampum summer camp in Heinie Goblins; naturally, the camp brochure is a ruse and the camp, run by two Wise Guys named Carmine and Vinnie, is a dump serving cold Hot Pockets with warm water, forcing recreation time in leaky canoes on the questionable Lake Gitchie Lagoonie, and haunting them by dressing up as The Burnt Marshmallow Mummy and The Lone Short-Sheeting Stranger. While out on Lake Gitchie Lagoonie, the boys’ canoe capsizes and they end up back in The Netherworld for a brief time, until their escape from the Creature from the Black Lagoon leads them back up to the Camp.
Deciding that they can make money by charging kids for trips to The Netherworld, the boys launch their next career venture. In The Netherworld, they meet the Heinie Goblins – cute, purple-feathered little batlike creatures with bare backsides. Despite the Guide to the Netherworld’s warning about the goblins being “a pain in the butt”, the boys allow a goblin to accompany them back to the camp, but the goblin brings friends along, who menace the other campers. When Carmine and Vinnie show up dressed as the Lone Short-Sheeting Stranger and the Burnt Marshmallow Mummy, the goblins become jealous of losing the audience’s attention – the book is, after all, named for them – and attack, leaving the boys to figure out a way to make things right.
The books are written with the lower end of the age range or the reluctant reader in mind, with black and white illustrations on every page and a mixture of graphic novel and chapter book format. Gross humor will appeal to boys (or girls!) who giggle at a good bathroom joke. The books are slightly more than 100 pages in length, making them easy and quick reads for younger children.
The author and illustrator, Elise Primavera, “ghost wrote” these books under the name Esile Arevamirp. There are four Fred & Anthony titles, but was surprised that the author’s website had no mention of them; I even attempted to find a website for her alter ego but found nothing. Turning to YouTube, discovered Rat Chat Reviews, an animated video review site for children’s books; the rats posted an interview with Fred and Anthony on the cancellation of their series. Regardless of whether or not there are any more Fred & Anthony books in the future, the series is still a fun set of books for a younger or reluctant reader.
Mom Read It 