June 1, 2015
A boy, a dad, two dogs, and a much-needed field trip. As in Road Trip (2013), Ben sets out on a journey with his dad. Ben plans to convince his father of his critical need to attend a new ice hockey academy. His dad may have other plans, however. They're accompanied by quite a crew: Atticus, the family's aging but wise border collie, who just wants to keep his flock of people together; Conor, their exuberant puppy; Brig, an always-hungry house-renovating apprentice; and twins Jacob and Charlotte, who are Ben's classmates. The supposed purpose of the expedition is to catch up with the rest of the class, which is on an extended field trip. Nothing ever works out the way it's planned, however, and the oft-silly action teeters on the brink of farce, as Ben tries to wangle an unscheduled hockey academy tryout, the twins attempt to broaden their educational horizons, Brig eats yet another strange concoction, and Atticus and Conor offer their own takes on the evolving situation. The Paulsens travel familiar ground; their first outing felt fresh, but this reads like something of a retread: gather some amusingly depicted, offbeat characters in a vehicle, add some father-son conflict, and take them on a bumpy ride. Readers who enjoyed the first will want to share this trip as well, but fresh ideas are needed if there's to be a third journey. (Fiction. 10-14)
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June 1, 2015
Grades 4-8 In this companion to Road Trip (2013), 14-year-old sports fanatic Ben Duffy desperately wants to attend hockey boarding school, but Dad nixes that dream, noting that a good education must come first. Instead, Mr. Duffy proposes another road tripthis one to chauffeur Ben and his classmates Jacob and Charlotte to a school field trip. Joining the travelers in the company car (an old ice cream van) are Briga young employee of Dad'sand the family border collies, Atticus and Conor. Dad is easily distractedleading to some hilarious, if improbable, adventuresand readers will not be surprised that, in the end, Dad's laid-back, live-a-well-rounded-life philosophy prevails over Ben's sports-minded intensity. Minor characters are also well developed, especially Brig, a soft-hearted runaway searching for a father figure, but whose junk-food eating habits leave much to be desired in the close quarters of a vehicle. Narrated by Ben with appended, perceptive comments from each of the dogs, this will have great appeal to fans of the earlier book and dog-lovers everywhere.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)