Pennybaker School is Revolting is the second book in the Pennybaker School series written by Jennifer Brown and illustrated by Marta Kissi. While newcomers might get the gist quickly, I recommend reading this series in order to fully enjoy the uniqueness of Pennybaker school and those that work or attend there.

Sixth-grader Thomas Fallgrout is finally settling in at Pennybaker School, home of student unicyclers, thespians, acrobats, and other classmates with unique and unusual gifts. After a bit of an unusual start to the school year, things are finally starting to seem normal. As normal as they ever could be at this decidedly unusual school, anyway. Until his Facts After the Fact (aka History) teacher Mr. Faboo goes missing, right in the middle of his favorite lesson of the year, leaving the class not a clue as to why or how. And his Four Square (aka Phys Ed) teacher introduces a new unit that is decidedly distressing. And Thomas’s neighbor, the formerly friendless Chip (he of the wacky sock collection), swoops in and bonds with all of Thomas’s friends, leaving Thomas in the dust. This year is getting out of control, and it’s up to Thomas to take matters into his own hands. It’s time… for a revolution.

Pennybaker School is Revolting is a fun story about friendship and figuring out the important things. Thomas is still struggling with the strangeness of his school, and his best friend. But, the a teacher that has gone missing and a series of events that leaving him with what is important to him. Thomas is trying so hard to find his place in school, with his friends, and who he wants to be and how he wants to be seen. This is all on par with what kids (and some adults) really struggle with on any given day. However, sometimes it did seem a bit much for me, but I am well past the target age and well into the stage where I no longer really care what people think about me- well most of the time. I enjoyed the black and white illustrations, and thought they add a nice touch and some additional humor and information to the story. I did like the craziness that happens in the story, and enjoyed the read. I just did not love it like I did the first book in the series.

Pennybaker School is Revolting is a good story about friendship and coming into your own. I think there are many readers that will enjoy it, and maybe see something of themselves or their worries inside.

Pretty Much By-the-Numbers, But Still Entertaining

This is a school daze story that mixes in just about every staple of school humor, adds an unnecessarily exaggerated ensemble of supporting characters, but is then saved, (at least for me), by its rather sweet treatment of the challenges and rewards of friendship.

Our hero, Thomas, is a bundle of annoying and rather childish traits, but luckily they start to be toned down fairly early on. His school is unrelievedly kooky, and all of the teachers and students are odd and quirky. This can be fun, but in moderation. Thomas is supposedly the normal kid. He's a little whiny and immature, and obsesses about and gets semi-hysterical about things like a dance unit in gym class. Really? Oh, and his adored deceased grandfather was a magician, so there's some magical illusion stuff that drifts in and out of the narrative. Luckily, there's just enough humor and insight in his first person narration that the reader is willing to go along for the ride hoping it will go somewhere.

This is not helped by the wacky element in the supporting characters. Grama is an extreme sports adrenaline junkie who sneaks out of the house to drive racecars. Mom is in a constant state of something like hysteria. There's an older sister who drifts in and out whenever a little annoyance seems to be required. And so it goes. Nothing new here, and more importantly, nothing very engaging.

The frame is that the kids' favorite teacher has just disappeared from the school and the kids want to find out where he is and why he isn't coming back. MEDIUM SPOILER. The answer to that mystery is sort of mild, but it doesn't matter because solving the mystery is more or less beside the point. What it does do is give Thomas and he exasperating friend Chip the opportunity to have all sorts of adventures while trying to track down the missing teacher.

And this is where the book shines. Thomas and Chip have a fraught relationship because everything Chip does to be a really good friend is somehow perceived by Thomas to be an aggravation. Thomas keeps running hot and cold on Chip, while poor slightly obtuse Chip doesn't understand why Thomas is grumpy. All of this is handled well, and with a light hand, and is woven through the antic goofy adventures the two boys have.

By the end, Thomas has learned how to be a good friend, and how to see light rather than dark motives in the well intentioned actions of others. I didn't really see that coming until about halfway through the book, and enjoyed the way it was handled. It's probably not surprising that this happened at the same time that the exaggerated and forced quirky hilarity started to be toned down.

So, on balance I thought this had some real, if unexpected appeal. And to be fair, given the complete over the topness of Captain Underpants style books, this one probably wouldn't be perceived by a young reader as being as heavy handed as I thought it to be. And it never drifted into odd topics or weird and vaguely unsettling tones the way some raucous young reader books can. As I say, it ultimately developed an upbeat and congenial feel. I could see this being a happy find for a fan of school based antics. 

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)