I really liked Pay Attention Carter Jones.

I liked how it began and I liked how it ended. And I liked everything in the middle.

I liked all of the characters including Carter, who is about to start middle school when Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick, an English butler, arrives unexpectedly at his doorsteps and takes control of the chaos that is the first day of school. While Carter’s little sisters play an important role, it is Carter who is at centre stage along with the butler, who teaches the children culture, the importance of manners, making good decisions and remembering who they are.

Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick pays particular attention to Carter, teaching him to be a gentleman – taking responsibility and showing kindness to his mom and his sisters.

Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick is an amazing character and one every child should have in his life. Beginning with me – I plan to read this book again, this time to my 10-year-old son.

Pay Attention Carter Jones is by Gary D. Schmidt ($23.99, Raincoast Books, HMHKids).

Illustration of a woman pulling a red fedora over her face, wearing black gloves and a red trench coat.
Who in the World is Carmen Sandiego? book tells the backstory of the famous thief.

Who in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Apparently people have been asking this very question for decades.

According to Gina Rodriguez, who voices Carmen Sandiego on the Netflix animated series, Carmen was her hero – not for the fact she was a theft, but that Carmen Sandiego travelled the world, seeing different places and exploring various cultures.

Carmen Sandiego – apparently – was a computer game and a TV game show for kids in the 1980s. I apparently missed that. The new Netflix show is a “serialized look at Carmen’s backstory that is told from her perspective” and so is the book by the same name: Who in the World is Carmen Sandiego? ($17.99, Raincoast Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)

In the book we get to read how Carmen got her start in becoming an international, unstoppable theft who travels the world, stealing things that don’t belong to her for the sheer enjoyment of the chase.

The book, nor the premise, is for me.

A copy of these books were provided by Raincoast Books for an honest review.
The opinions are my own.