Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781551435183
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (1/08)
What is a laird? Laggan schools have a laird as their mascot. None of the students at the school even know what a laird is. They don’t know why the laird was picked as the mascot. They would like to be known as something else. But the question is: what should their mascot be?
What becomes a question about a school mascot becomes a lesson in democracy. Several names are chosen such as dragons, leopards, and lynx. Tanner and Taylor are two young boys who came up with the idea of changing the mascot. They have even entered their own mascot in the election. The principal of their school, Mr. McGregor is not any too happy that the two young boys have entered “Lard Butts” as a potential mascot. He even tries to have them drop off the ballot.
The whole school will get to take part in electing the new mascot, from the kindergartners all the way up to the older kids. Each potential mascot has a campaign manager and an election team who is working towards getting theirs elected. Sarah is a very talented girl in their class who has definite sales abilities. She promotes the Leopards, how can you compete with someone who has come up with a catchy slogan?
Eric Walters has written a great adventure book. “Laggan Lard Butts” won’t only entertain the readers with its funny events leading up to the election; kids will also learn about how democracy works and some of what goes into campaigning for candidates or ideas.
The sports teams at the school aren’t winners at all. “Laggan Lard Butts” is definitely a terrific book! It is a real winner! Its fun to see how it develops and which mascot will win at the end.
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