Review: Cody and the Fountain of Happiness

Cody and the Fountain of Happiness
By Tricia Springstubb, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Expected publication April 14, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Cody is thrilled about summer vacation. She is going to make the most of it. But, it seems that everything is conspiring against her. Her brother is moping about a girl he loves, her mother is stressed about a promotion at work, and her father is away on business. When a new neighbor loses his cat, Cody sees the opportunity for a new friend and maybe some summer fun.

I don't read a lot of early chapter books (as an aside, is there an agreed upon term for these? geared toward 7-10 year-olds, similar in difficulty to Magic Tree House - I'm just going with early chapter). This is partly because there are just too many books I want to read to fit them all in and also at least partly because I envision myself getting all too familiar with these books at a point in my future (i.e. when I have kids). But this one showed up at my desk and it looked cute, so I figured why not give it a quick read? (That's the beauty of these - extremely quick reads!)

While it is a cute story, it was a bit boring for me. There were bits that I liked (Cody's parents are fun characters with interesting jobs, Spencer and Mew Mew and GG), but it just wasn't terribly exciting. I think that might be pretty typical for early chapter books and I can definitely see why that works for this age group - they like to read about kids like themselves, doing things they might do. But, as an adult reader, it's a bit mindless. Also, while I can appreciate Cody's spunk, I also found her a bit trying at times.

I don't have much else to say - cute enough, but probably not terribly memorable. Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.