Trouble Magnet

by Graham Salisbury

Book Overview

A humorous chapter book about a fourth-grade boy, full of the fun of growing up in Hawaii.

Calvin Coconut lives near the beach in Kailua, Hawaii, with his mom and his little sister. All his friends live there, too.

Mom says: "You're the man of the house, Cal." Which means: Be responsible. Calvin tries, but fun--and trouble--follows him wherever he goes, even in the classroom, also known as Mr. Purdy's Fourth-Grade Boot Camp. And how...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 037584600X
• ISBN13: 9780375846007
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Book Review: Trouble Magnet (Calvin Coconut #1)

It seems like every other book that's published these days has a #1 slapped on the spine. I can understand why. Series books allow readers to get comfortable with characters and form a connection that can last over the course of a lot of reading. They're also the ultimate "what do I read next" solution: Young Reader: What should I read next? Me: Well, you read and enjoyed the first outing of Horrible Harry, correct? Might I humbly suggest that you will likely find the second installment of interest. Young Reader: Why are you talking like that? Me: Sorry. Try book #2. Anyway, series books often introduce characters that kids want to go on adventures with. Magic Tree House, Harry Potter, Nate the Great, Cam Jansen, The 39 Clues - the list truly goes on and on, and is growing. Kids like series books. And kids are gonna like Calvin Coconut. In Trouble Magnet (Calvin Coconut #1), readers are introduced to a character that is instantly likable, living in a unique setting, getting into the sort of situations that kids will laugh about and identify with. Push this one on your series-loving young readers. Calvin lives with his mom and six-year-old sister Darci in Kailua, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Just about to start 4th grade (and looking forward to his ex-army teacher Mr. Purdy), Calvin receives some surprising news and some bad news. The surprising news is that the Coconuts will be taking on a temporary new member, 15-year-old Stella, from Texas. The bad news is that she'll be taking over Calvin's room (moving him to the bug-infested garage) and eliminating his status as the oldest kid in the family. While our hero tries to sort out that predicament, he also has to do his best to fend off the slow witted school bully (sixth grader Tito Andrade) who seems to have it in for him. These two situations eventually collide, paving the way for a conclusion that will please young readers. When I first got a load of this book I couldn't help but think "the story takes place in Hawaii and the main character's last name is Coconut? Isn't that sort of, I don't know, offensive?" That concern was put to rest quickly however when the reader learns that Calvin's father, a one-hit-wonder singer, changed the family's last name to Coconut from Novio for career purposes. It's a showbiz thing. This back story also clues the reader into the fact that Calvin's dad left for the bright lights of the mainland four years ago and has yet to return. Calvin himself is refreshingly normal, and his personality drives the jovial, upbeat mood of Trouble Magnet. He's not a genius, but not a poor student either. Funny, but not a class clown. When difficult situations arise, it isn't the end of the world to Calvin, but it isn't fun either. There's a realism to the character that kids will find comfortable. With so many #1s being applied to spines these days, it's easy for new series to run together. With humor, likable characters, and loads of readability, Trouble Magnet stan

Whoever heard of a boy named "Coconut"?

"Maybe you know the feeling of how junk it is when summer ends," begins this first installment of Graham Salisbury's Calvin Coconut series. Set in the island of Oahu in Hawaii, this book tells of the everyday (mis-)adventures that a 10-year-old boy can find himself in. Or, as the book correctly puts it: the troubles a boy can attract to himself like a "paper clip to a magnet." Our trouble-magnet boy, Calvin, is not entirely to blame, though, as he has friends--and the ever-present bullies--to contribute their own kind of mischief. As the initial story in the series, the reader is not only introduced to Calvin, but also to his family, his buddies, the people in his neighborhood, his community and his culture. Introduced as a boy of mixed heritage, there are many new and interesting things that readers can learn about Calvin...including why his last name is "Coconut." Light and laid-back, like a day at the beach, this book is sure to bring giggles and good-natured shrieks to a young reader's day. The story has many teachable elements--responsibility, sibling love, openness to differences--which makes it a practical learning tool. Despite Calvin's apprehension about summer ending, this reviewer believes Calvin has the chance to share more of his experiences to readers 10 years and below, long beyond summertime. Reviewed by D. Harms

Hana hou!

Fourth grader Calvin Coconut lives in Kailua, on Oahu, with his sister and their single mom. Calvin became the "man of the house" when his dad, singer Little Johnny Coconut, had a hit song, and left the family, "for the bright lights of Las Vegas." Here, Calvin explains his last name: "Coconut was my dad's idea. He made it up. For a famous singer, Little Johnny Coconut sounded way more interesting that Little Johnny Novio, which was our real last name. Dad was so pleased with himself, he made the name legal. Now we were all Coconuts." Kids will love this warm, gentle, funny and true-to-life series. For adults who went to school in Hawai'i - brace yourself for the rush of memories of da hanna-batta days.

Graham Salisbury Charms Younger Readers with Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet

Well-known young adult author Graham Salisbury's newest novel, Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet, ventures into the realm of primary grade readers and aspires to charm an entire new group of readers with his small kid stories. Although this is Salisbury's first book written specifically for younger readers--from first graders ready for "chapter books" to fourth graders who are the same age as the class of rascals in Trouble Magnet--this is clearly no longer uncharted waters for Salisbury. The continuing adventures of rascal Calvin Coconut will certainly whet the appetite of younger readers and encourage them to read on their own as well as clamor for their parents or teachers to read aloud to them. Like the Graham Salisbury I have watched charm student (and adult!) audiences with his natural flow of small kid time stories, in Trouble Magnet he captures the realities of elementary kids' mischievousness, fears of repercussion, and triumphs. As a teacher, I appreciate Salisbury's uncanny knack for understanding and conveying the nuances of the dynamics of the classroom; he shows us both sides, too. We see the frantic teacher on the first day of the school year (Mr. Purdy's Fourth Grade Boot-Camp) trying to figure out which kids are the rascals and need to be seated far away from each other, when to be suspicious of kids' behavior, and how to maintain the fragile balance between order and chaos in the classroom. We also see into the minds of fourth grade "trouble magnet" Calvin and his friends who love to bring excitement (such as jars holding spiders, ants, lizards, mice or even a centipede) with them to school. Salisbury realistically includes in his cast of characters Willy, "the newest blondest kid in the fourth grade," and fifteen-year-old Stella, a visitor from Texas staying in Calvin's household, who talks funny and doesn't yet have a taste for the local delicacies such as dried shrimp. With this mix of characters, the next adventure is always about to happen! Although this book delighted my own seventh graders when I read an excerpt aloud to them, I was curious to see how the intended audience of younger students would react. To this end, I enlisted the help of my colleague Mary Jo, a first grade teacher at my school, who elatedly took the book home to select passages to read aloud to her students. Coincidentally, she chose the same chapters I had shared with my students: chapters 3 and 8, "Centipede" and "Escape," respectively. Her students were "enthralled!" They understood what a magnet does, got excited when the centipede got loose, and loved the illustrations and especially the map of Calvin's Kailua neighborhood (some of the students live in that part of Oahu).When I talked with the first graders briefly, they excitedly asked where they could get the book so they could read about the rest of Calvin's adventures on their own. Artist Jacqueline Rogers's delightful illustrations perfectly capture the personalities of the characters,

A page-turner about a regular kid in Hawaii

"Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet" by Graham Salisbury (Random House, 2009) --------------------------------------------- This is a fast-moving book about a fourth-grader named Calvin Coconut, who lives in Hawaii with his single mom and little sister. Coconut is his real last name: his now-absent dad was a popular lounge singer ala Don Ho, who changed the family name to suit his career. It's okay, though -- none of Calvin's friends mind him having a made-up name. No one, that is, except the school bully, Tito, who has it in for the younger kid and keeps threatening to beat him up. Anyway, school just started and Calvin is settling in to a new routine, but somehow trouble just seems to keep heading his way, as it often does with ten-year old boys. "Calvin Coconut" is a very readable, fast-moving book -- the short, four-page chapters help -- and while it isn't great literature, it is consistently engaging and entertaining. There's a little bit of local Hawaiian culture to be seen within its pages, but mostly what kids will take away is how much Hawaiian kids are like kids elsewhere, full of curiosity and prone to misadventure whenever possible. A good, quick read with a likable goofball hero. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)