Killer Pizza

Title: Killer Pizza    

Author: Greg Taylor  

Publication Date: 2009  

Genre/Format: Science Fiction/Novel  

Summary: An action packed book about Toby Magill, a 14-year-old boy who accepts a summer job at Killer Pizza for the summer only to find out he won't be making pizzas...he'll be training and hunting down monsters!  Toby and his two co-workers, Annabel and Strobe, make a great team as they make sure monsters don't take over their quiet town! 

What I Think: I've, of course, read the Twilight (The Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer, and I also just read Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by E. Van Lowe, but I'm still kind of new to the whole monster fiction scene.  This book is cool because there is a entirely new breed of monsters that the trio have to take on.  Toby and the other two characters work so well together.  By the end, there was so much action, it was fun to keep reading and reading.  I can definitely see boys getting into this book! 

Read Together: 5 - 8   

Read Alone: 6 - 8  

Read With: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (series) by Rick Yancey; Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (series) by Rick Riordan; The 39 Clues Book 1:The Maze of Bones (series) Rick Riordan and others;  

Snatch of Text: "The hills of Hidden Hills now seemed to glow brightly in the amber light of the setting sun.  Toby leaned on the sill and breathed in the wamr, humid evening air.  Incredible how things could change so quickly.  From dreading the summer to suddenly welcoming it with open arms!

     Wait, what was that?

     Toby frowned as he scanned the line of trees that bordered the backyard of his house.  He had just seen something move through those trees.  A large upright shape of some sort, too large to have been human." p. 17-18 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Asking Questions, Making Connections, Making Predictions, Visualizing   

Writing Strategies to Practice: Plot Development   

Writing Prompts: Write a story that takes a sudden twist - start of by describing something everyday or normal and then go in a different direction.     

Topics Covered: Friendship, Independence, Courage, Action, Monsters, Teamwork, Responsibility  

Translated to Spanish: No