THE NOBODIES Fern Drudger's quirky adventures continue in this delightful sequel to The Anybodies. She goes to Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times and is bombarded by desperate messages from people who call themselves the Nobodies. But who are the Nobodies, and what do they want from Fern? Grade 5-8- This sequel to The Anybodies (HarperCollins, 2004) is written in the same vein, with strange talking animals and weird goings-on. The prologue features the "author," N. E. Bode, addressing readers in a distinctly Lemony Snicket-esque tone, even to the extent of repeatedly mentioning attempts on his life due to his knowledge of the events in the two books. Fern briefly summarizes events from the first book, but those who have not read it will still be somewhat confused. Fern is an Anybody, who can transform objects into reality. Her grandmother lives in a house made of books and populated by characters that have fallen out of the pages of these volumes. Howard and Fern, both 11 and uneasily starting a friendship, are to spend the summer at an Anybodies camp called Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times. Of course, a camp with that moniker is bound to be anything but fun. Its administrators seem quite sinister, and include an extremely unpleasant and evil mole. The counselors are obnoxious to the kids during the day but at night are trapped in animal form and try to protect the children from frightening and mysterious events. Will the evil Mole successfully steal Fern's precious book, The Art of Being Anybody , thereby giving him access to all the secrets therein? And what is the significance of the fizzy drinks that the counselors incessantly drink? The book ends somewhat abruptly, with all questions answered. An enjoyable choice for fans of the first one. -B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Gr. 5-8. The chatty narrator of The Anybodies (2004) is back, reporting the latest misadventures of Fern and Howard, swapped at birth, then "unswapped." Here the children are at a summer camp for shape-shifting Anybodies. Though Fern is excited about learning Anybody skills, Howard loathes the idea, and Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times is even worse than he imagined: a blind bus driver-handyman; moldy, spider-infested cabins; mean, creepy counselors; a vicious mole who wants something Fern has; and terrified campers who shun Fern. There are also strange soda-pop bottles containing messages demanding that Fern save someone. It's a dangerous, miserable puzzle, but Bode neatly and cleverly ties up loose ends and, on the last page, produces a nifty surprise that will have readers clamoring for another sequel. Suggest this to teachers looking for an off-the-wall read-aloud or as an excellent example of voice in writing. Chris Sherman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Rich in mystery, action, and self-discovery.” (Kirkus Reviews) “An off the wall read-aloud. An excellent example of voice in writing.” (Booklist) “An enjoyable choice for fans of the first one.” (School Library Journal) The elusive and charming N. E. Bode writes from a secret locale beneath a giant, unmarked tree in the middle of Central Park. Some great works born from this hidden perch include The Anybodies , The Nobodies , and The Somebodies . N. E. Bode would also like to mention the books of Julianna Baggott, trusted friend, who writes novels and poetry for grown-ups and lives in the Florida panhandle. Peter Ferguson, who did the illustrations for this book, is a disagreeable young man who lurks in a dusty corner of the hamlet Montreal, not far from the Arctic Circle. His favorite phrase is "You can't make me." The Nobodies By N. Bode HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 N. Bode All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060557386 Chapter One Diet Lime Fizzy Drinks Fern was looking out her bedroom window in her grandmother's house for a runaway rhinoceros. Ridiculous, you might be muttering to yourself. Well, it might be ridiculous, but it's true. (And didn't your mother tell you not to mutter to yourself! My mother told me that if I muttered to myself all the time, I might end up spending my days shuffling through the bus depot wearing my pajamas. And so I've made a little life out of muttering on paper?just like so.) Fern had been sent to her bedroom by Dorathea and the Bone, who were steamed about the rhinoceros that Howard and Fern had accidentally shaken from a book containing an entire stampede. They'd been shaking the book together, but once Fern heard the stampede pounding in the book, she had dropped it. She'd told Howard to shut it, quick, but he hadn't. Howard! Fern could see him now in her mind's eye, gripping onto the roaring, thundering book, his whole body rattling while the rhino muscled its way out, bursting forth with its horn and thick armored sides! Why hadn't he listened to her