Girl Pick: Once Upon a Toad

Once Upon a Toad
by Heather Vogel Frederick
Simon & Schuster
2012
272 pages

Available April 10, 2012 (page count and publication date from publisher's website)

Clever, cute, quirky, and good clean fun, Once Upon a Toad delivers non-stop laughs and outrageous antics!

Twelve year old Catriona Skye Starr (Dad calls her Kit-Cat)is visiting her dad, step-mom, step-sister Olivia and little brother Geoffrey. Her astronaut mother was called at the last minute for a space mission. So while Mom is literally out of this world, Cat's Great Aunt Abyssinia is even more far out. She lives in her r.v. with a weird cat and travels around the country to all the national parks. Not only that, Abyssinia is one eccentric auntie--with a family secret that is about to get Cat in trouble.

Cat is not happy to be sharing a room with Olivia; Olivia is conceited and spoiled, a true "mean girl." Cat tries to be nice but living with Olivia is out of the question. It gets worse after a visit from Aunt Abyssinia. All of a sudden, each time Cat speaks, a toad drops from her throat! To make matters worse and pour salt into the wound, each time Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers flow from her mouth.

Once their secret is discovered, everyone wants a piece of them--media and press are camped out on their lawn, an FBI guy shows up wanting to take Olivia to Area 51 for "study," kidnappers nab Geoffrey--holding him for ransom until they get their hands on the "Diamond Girl."

Cat can't wait to get away from Olivia but she needs to fix their problem: toads and diamonds are everywhere! And then, Cat remebers that Abyssinia visited right before the weird happenings. She has to find Aunt Abyssinia and figure out what she knows about the girls' problem. The girls will have to work together to out-manoeuver the FBI guy, outsmart the kidnappers, and outrun the police.

Recommended for girls who love a funny story with a little fairy tale magic grades 5-7. Older girls may also like quirky Cat.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.