LitPick Review
Joseph Smith's "The Substitute Kid" is a short children's book. It follows the month of a fourth grade girl yearning for summer vacation with her best friend. Cute little shenanigans are sprinkled across the pages as sibling rivalry comes into play. Also, the main girl discovers that her father--who is a science professor--has made a life-like robotic replica of her. The girl then uses this robot to act as herself and literally as a substitute for her. The robot takes a history test for the girl and earns an A. Suspicion arises as the father looks over surveillance tapes and the girl's arch nemesis realizes this "substitution" is suddenly very nice towards her. The book ends with a discovery for all that is quite pleasant and touching.
Opinion:
The Substitute Kid is fabulous for young readers. The author gives the main action away on the back (the girl using a robot) but does not fully divulge into that scene until at least halfway through the book. This gives youngsters extra incentive to read. Additionally, since the chapters are only a couple of pages each, little ones will not find the book too hard / difficult to read at once. Great messages are in this book. When the girl uses a robot to take her test, it is a history one. The girl does not need help in math or science. Hence, that stereotype about girls is not played into. The girl even wears glasses and is an athletic captain. Also, her best friend is a girl with blond hair and blue eyes. The main character stays very true to her self and does not envy other characters or girls' features. The book subtly gives girls confidence while making reading fun and cool.
