Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

by Sands Hetherington, Jessica Love, Gail Kearns

Overview

The book is all about the nighttime adventures of a young boy named John, who is not ready to go to sleep, and his friend, a bright red crocodile named Crosley who turns up under John's bed.

They sneak out of John's house using Crosley's "I-ain't-here-doodad" which makes them invisible to John's parents. They then embark on an adventure chasing down enemies and cleaning up one mess after another as they solve the earthshaking mystery: who stole all the pineapple cheesecakes from the only factory in the world that makes them!

The investigation starts out fine, but things get a little crazy when Crosley, who is allergic to water, gets wet. Hilarious things happen when Crosley's allergy to water kicks in, and when they get to the pineapple cheesecake factory and meet Big Foot Mae, the investigation gets more complicated and zany than either of them bargained for.

Night Buddies is an astonishing and inventive adventure with unforgettable cast of characters that will make you laugh and win over your heart. The book has lots of thoughtful, multi-layered twists, giggles, and perils -- things kids can relate to and enjoy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780984741755
Publisher:	Dune Buggy Press
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Series:	Night Buddies: Adventures after Lights Out , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sands Hetherington, creator of the Night Buddies series of chapter books, credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. They collaborated many nights on escapades starring John and Crosley, until eventually it occurred to Sands why it was that Crosley was bright red. That was when the first book came together. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years: all of the classic children's stories from Aesop through the Grimms, Lewis Carroll, Frank Baum, Tolkien and Dahl, with a lot of Dickens and Hugo thrown in. When school was out they got in the car and toured Alaska, Canada and most of the contiguous states. John still gets around. So far he has lived in Germany, Scotland, Russia, England and Spain. Dogs have always been a part of the author's life, beginning with Whiskers, a cocker spaniel. When his wonderful boxer Hube died, he despaired of finding a boxer who could match him, and instead got a Saint Bernard. He ended up breeding Saints for a number of years and at this point has had twelve as house pets. Sands says dogs can do you a power of good, and if you lose one, go out and get another the next day and you will be surprised at how fast your grief goes away. Sands is also a Civil War buff. He would like to spend a month of evenings with common soldiers from both sides to see how they felt about the business. And eccentric generals like Jackson, Sherman and Forrest, and most of all Lincoln. Because Lincoln never gets to smile in his pictures. The author was born in New York City but was transplanted a year later to Greensboro, North Carolina, where his maternal grandmother lived. He never really left the area and has a lot of the South in him. His grandmother was a prominent educator and became a great friend and mentor. 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 now, and hangs out with his longtime friend Ann and their Saint Bernards Dudley and Maggie. He likes visiting ancient Mediterranean sites in Turkey and Italy, and most of all Greece. Jessica 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. Her favorite way to work is collaborative, which is why illustration is such a treat. Some of her inspirations are Maurice Sendak, Edmund Dulac, Lisbeth Zwerger and of course, the incomparable Hilary Knight. Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, toggling back and forth between her work as an actor and her work as an artist. Gail M. Kearns founded her company, GMK Editorial and Writing Services, in Santa Barbara, California, in 1995, and has helped dozens of authors shape their books for publication. Kearns has broadened the scope of traditional editing services to include layout, production, printing and vendor coordination. Currently she is the president of To Press and Beyond, a full-service book shepherding agency that grew out of numerous requests from clients. She helps manage projects from inception to completion and supports clients by providing editing, advertising copy, news releases, press kits and Internet writing, as well as innovative plans for marketing and promotion. Previously Kearns was a story analyst and development executive in the motion picture industry: with RKO Pictures in New York City, she scouted for books to produce as movies; in Los Angeles, she worked with several independent production companies and their writers. Before that, Kearns spent a decade as a film production supervisor. Her editing and publishing consulting has taken her throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has a BS degree from Hunter College, CUNY.

Editorial Reviews

“This little book is a winner!”

—Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Amazon Reviewer

“Hetherington seems to have the right ingredients for a classic children’s whodunit—talking animals, an unsolved mystery and a brave hero willing to face unforeseen foes…”

—Kirkus

“Stating that Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is a creative, imaginative and delightful tale is simply giving it its just desserts. Yerk! Yerk! Yerk!”

— Drew Aquilina, International award-winning cartoonist and author, Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up

“Night Buddies is a terrific story my second and third-graders would love to have read to them, complete with its colorful dialect. Thanks for the sneak peek!”

— Lorie Thompson, Principal, Haskell Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District

“Two unlikely friends-one human and one crocodilian-embark on an adventure to solve a mystery: where did all the pineapple cheesecakes go? Have fun reading this lively story.”

— Diane Witt, Retired Public Elementary School Teacher (30 years), Boulder, Colorado

“Night Buddies is visionary, conceptual, and a forecast of fun for children and schoolteachers alike. Author Sands Hetherington with mastery unveils creativity with purpose, inventions in language, and makes reading fun.”

— Al Carrozza, author of Universal Enzyme

“Don’t miss this wonderful new children’s book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare. Your children will thank you!”

— Kathi Macias, award-winning author of more than 30 books including Special Delivery (Freedom Series)

This fast-paced, warm-hearted story is written in several amusing dialects and will appeal to kids from 8 to 10 or 11. Boys who are reluctant readers will especially enjoy it.”

— P. Joy Webster, school librarian and author of Don’t come here, Julie! chosen as Book of the Year 2010 (Young Adult Science Fiction category)

From the Publisher

Gr 3–4—One night John can't sleep. As he lies in bed thinking about the pineapple cheesecake he had for dessert, a red crocodile climbs out from under his bed. Crosley becomes John's Night Buddy and they are soon off on to solve the mystery of the disappearing dessert. The story is bogged down by a heavy use of dialect, which reads more like poor grammar than colorful vernacular (especially since there is no indication of the locale). During one exchange, John questions Crosley about his continual use of the word "ain't," saying his parents have told him he shouldn't use it. Crosley's response, "They're exackly right….But ya see, with us crocodiles it's a little different situation. We got some special words that we have t' use just because we're crocodiles." The mystery is often lost in unnecessary interludes about drooling over pineapple cheesecake or why it's okay to not have a middle name. Crosley continually refers to the Night Buddy "program," but it's not explained until the final chapter in what feels like an afterthought. With a slight plot filled in with random details and amateurish illustrations scattered throughout, this title is one to skip.—Laura Stanfield, Campbell County Public Library, Ft. Thomas, KY

School Library Journal