School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Ronald Mack-better known as "Cheesie"-is an almost-11-year-old with a knack for silliness and trouble. Sneaking white mice into school, maintaining a complex point-keeping system to track sibling rivalry, inventing new words, and making conjectures about the town's spooky old house are all in a day's work. Cheesie's best friend, Georgie, is with him every step of the way. When the boys find a mysterious envelope, they're in for the adventure of a lifetime, resulting in several big surprises and a solution to their biggest problem. Ever the good-natured narrator, Cheesie manages to include many facts along with the high jinks; readers will pick up tidbits about coin collecting, vocabulary, pill bugs, and more. While a few too many Mayberry-esque details and a definite overload of pleas to visit Cheesie's website may annoy some kids, most will enjoy this rollicking read.-Amanda Moss Struckmeyer, Middleton Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
With a voice as authentic as his conviction that mac and cheese should be a recognized food group, ten-year-old Ronald (a.k.a. Cheesie) Mack writes about a few days in the middle of June, days filled with fifth-grade graduation, solving a mystery, dealing with his older sister Goon, and keeping his best friend, Georgie Sinkoff. Displaying assurance but not cockiness, Cheesie passes on writing tips, sometimes letting his readers know when he's turning his story into science fiction or fantasy; sometimes making pointed use of details; sometimes using big words ("I will definitely put some superlative [soo-PER-lah-tiv] -- which means better than excellent -- words into this book"); and sometimes just making up his own vocabulary, with words such as scoogled (a combination of scoot and wiggle). The heart of this non-linear story (think of a ten-year-old giving an oral book report with several short but never tedious asides) comes with a moral dilemma: should Cheesie and Georgie return a valuable coin they found to its owner? The book's tone leaves little doubt as to the outcome, but the pleasures lie in meeting a new friend -- and in the promise of a sequel to this debut novel. Illustrations unseen. betty carter (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ronald Mack, nicknamed Cheesie, as in macaroni and cheese, shares the story of his fifth-grade graduation time in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and its attendant crazy best-friend exploits, spooky old neighbors, mystery solving, summer-camp concerns, lesson learning, and well-meaning-family drama. Cheesie addresses the reader directly in this fairly typical tale, illustrated with occasional spot art, and is often conspiratorial, as when he references a bad word that the people who print these books told me I definitely could not write. He constantly makes lists, uses advanced vocabulary words credited to adults, and refers readers to his real-life website (www.cheesiemack.com) for opportunities to extend the experience in his world. The author's voice becomes a little overbearing, but the very conceit that this fictional character is communicating with a little help from Steve Cotler offers an appealing entryway to the target audience. Neither a genius nor a literary trailblazer, Cheesie and his book are basic, good old-fashioned fun.--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist
