Night Buddies and One Far-Out Flying Machine

by Sands Hetherington, Jessica Love (Illustrator)

Overview

For young John Degraffenreidt, a sleepless night is no reason to fret when tossing and turning in bed brings a bright red crocodile named Crosley out from under his bed. Night Buddies like Crosley promise an evening of adventure to any not-tired-yet kid and tonight is no different! Out of bed, and into the city, John embarks on a one-of-a-kind program with his crocodile pal. It seems like Cros is a one-of-a-kind individual that is, until red crocs start popping up all over the city, creating confusion, committing crimes, and causing Crosley to go bananas at the sight of them.

The impostors must be stopped, and Night Buddies John and Crosley are just the guys to stop them! Racing blimp stakeouts high in the sky, impostor traps organized with the help of friend, and a never ending supply of pineapple cheesecake frozen yogurt make for one totally super sleepless night.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780984741724
Publisher:	Dune Buggy Press
Publication date:	05/14/2013
Series:	Adventures After Lights Out , #2
Pages:	319
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Sands Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator for writing the Night Buddies series of books. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro.

essica Love grew up in California, with two artist parents. She studied printmaking and drawing at UC Santa Cruz, then went on to study acting at The Juilliard School in NYC. Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, toggling back and forth between her work as an actor and her work as an artist.

Editorial Reviews

“This is a wonderful and entertaining tale for children…It is amusing following Crosley and John on their adventure. They meet some interesting characters along the way.”

— Night Owl Reviews

“Sands Hetherington, with the able assistance of the imagination and enthusiasm of his young son John, have created a new and completely unforgettable and likable character in Crosley, a bright red crocodile who happens to dwell under the bed of the sleepless lad John Degraffenreidt, beginning what we can only hope will be an ongoing series of books under the title NIGHT BUDDIES. Together Crosley and John set out on a Program (Night Buddies’ term for ‘Adventure’), the purpose being to rid their world of enemies and solve conundrums. This go-round finds John and Crosley out to solve the mystery of imposters or look-alikes – too many red crocodiles doing bad things. Their antics include stakeouts and wild chases in a ridiculously impossible flying machine (beautifully illustrated on the cover by Jessica Love) and with the same wonderful typeface differences and page disorganization as the first book accompanying John, Crosley’s brother Crenwinkle and a new character – one Rodney Oglesby who owns and runs a sauerkraut and jellybean hot dog stand! Kids love these adventures because they are visual, inventive, engage the absurd, and still mix a level of adventure with anxiety regarding the antics of the players. It is another success for Sands Hetherington!”

— Grady Harp, Amazon.com Hall of Fame Reviewer

“Another great Night Buddies epic adventure and mystery, in an incredible, delicious word salad narrative style that absolutely keeps the pages turning. Quirky black and white illustrations add to the high interest and excitement, and language, language, language, complete with expressive, changing type fonts and wonderful made-up words, describe the indescribable…a fantastic series to engage, entertain, and educate young readers (ages 9 and up) effortlessly. Watch for Book 3 in this fun, fantastic series.”

— Midwest Book Review

“Night Buddies: Impostors and One Far-Out Flying Machine has all the right pieces for a great kids’ book: talking animals, cool inventions, and fun. Perhaps because [author] Sands Hetherington’s son played such a big part in creating the characters, it really does seem to capture the sense of fun that young boys so love, while at the same time catering to their fantasies of not really having to go to bed … [it’s] a fun work of fiction for kids that should keep them wondering till the last page.”

— Games Finds

“I love the idea of the Night Buddies, a secret agent program to help kids get tired and go to sleep. The book had lots of humor in it and it is appropriate for kids of all ages. Even though the story has crimes being committed, they are things like stealing mothballs, creating messes, and other silly stuff. John and Crosley are great characters and they are fun to read about…I am looking forward to the next book in the series! Five out of five bookworms for this fun adventure!”

— This Kid Reviews Books

From the Publisher