LitPick Review
Ellie, the main character in The Third Mushroom by Jennifer Holm, was in middle school when the “Mushroom War” started. Her parents tried to get Ellie to eat mushrooms by hiding them in various dishes, but after trying them twice, Ellie refused to eat a third mushroom.
When Ellie’s science teacher, Mr. Ham, encourages his students to do a science fair project, Ellie immediately knows that she wants her grandfather, Melvin, to be her partner. Melvin was a scientist who figured out how to reverse age and turn himself into a teenager. For the science fair, Ellie and Melvin decide to see what happens if they feed a weird jellyfish-like creature to fruit flies. They get some very interesting results.
Will Ellie ever eat another mushroom? How does their science fair project turn out? Read The Third Mushroom to find out!
Opinion:
The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm was a very exciting book and a quick read. All the characters except Melvin felt realistic. Melvin had reversed his age and turned himself from a grandpa into a teenager. All throughout the book there were several surprising plot twists and turns when it seemed like the impossible had happened. This book had a positive message: never give up, even when things seem like they couldn’t get any worse. This book is the sequel to The Fourteenth Goldfish, but it stands well on its own. I would highly recommend this great book to 7-13 year olds.
