Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #576637 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-4-Andy Russell's active brain is always busy but rarely tuned into what is going on in his fourth-grade class. While the other students are hard at work, he chooses names for what he hopes will be a new brother, worries about a stray cat hanging around the playground, and thinks about his pal Tamika or his enemy Stacy Ann Jackson. Fractions may not be Andy's bag, but he makes top grades at caring for animals and for friends in need. He willingly offers some of his 50 baby gerbils as prizes for the school carnival but insists the new owners sign a contract promising proper care for their new pets. When Tamika loses her foster family, Andy's family takes her in and he arranges a celebration to welcome her. Andy is an unusual male character because his exploits deal with emotions and relationships rather than physical challenges. Adler does his usual competent job of gearing his writing to readers just beginning novels, but the plot lacks the tension found in his "Cam Jansen" stories (Viking). Hillenbrand's full-page, black-and-white illustrations nicely reflect the humorous tone of the text. Readers looking for a relatively tame home/school story with a warm family background but few surprises will enjoy Andy. Children hooked on fast-paced plots will have to look elsewhere.
Maggie McEwen, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, ME
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

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Customer Reviews

Andy is back
Andy tried hard to focus in school. But it's so hard when he tried to plan out the school carnival and think of a name for his new baby brother. And if all this wasn't enough his gerbils have escapes in the school AGAIN! This keeps him in trouble all the time. His best friend Tamika is going to try her best to help him stay out of trouble.

This is the second book in the Andy Russell series. Kids will enjoy this and look for the others that follow it.


I would recommend this book. I feel that kids can relate to the characters in the book well.

Fun, easy reading for young children or struggling readers.
Andy & Tamika is a realistic fiction trade book that is centered on the experiences of a young boy named Andy. This book includes many elements of the different types of realistic fiction such as, relationships with the nuclear family and alternative family situations, relationships with peers, relationships with animals, cultural diversity, and a slight element of suspense. In addition, periodic illustrations throughout the book provide appealing representations of the characters and settings that are involved. This book is part of a series by David A. Adler that follows The many troubles of Andy Russell and proceeds School Trouble for Andy Russell.
This book is recommended for 9-12 year old readers but would probably appeal more to the younger children in this age range and/or benefit struggling readers at the older end due to its limited vocabulary, larger font and shorter sentence structure. Since this story is part of a series, young readers who identify with the characters and like the variety of story details, would most likely enjoy reading the other books offered by this author. I liked this book for its variety of realistic fiction elements but would prefer a book with greater vocabulary and more advanced writing structure for children of its intended age.