Cahoots

As summer draws to a close, 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick travels to the Anderson farm in Minnesota for a family vacation. Aldo’s mom is eager for him to experience her favorite childhood pastimes such as shucking sweet corn, milking cows, gathering eggs and best of all enjoying fresh air and living off the land.

But Aldo suspects that farm life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and his worst fears are confirmed. The rooster wakes him at dawn, the chores exhaust him, and the cousins identical twin pranksters are in cahoots against him. Even the creepy old portrait of his great-grandfather seems to be watching these shenanigans from the frame on the wall. Aldo must endure all this without the consolation of TV or computers, because the farm is (gasp!) technology free.

The humorous plot turns and lively drawings in this book will captivate both enthusiastic and reluctant young readers. This third installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series features a vocabulary-building glossary of cool words starting with the letter C, including conniption, charisma, and cattywampus.

Karla Oceanak has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years. She has ghostwritten numerous self-help books and is a public speaker for childhood literacy.

Kendra Spanjer is an illustrator and studio artist.

They both live in Fort Collins, CO.