THE BOYS START THE WAR

THE BOYS START THE WAR (Book 1 of 11) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

GREEN LIGHT

AGES; READ ALOUD AGES: 2ND - 8TH GRADE

READ MYSELF AGES: 4TH - 8TH GRADE

I love when someone shares a favorite book that they've enjoyed with me, and this one is fantastic! The Boys Start the War is one of the rarities that is super fun for boys and girls alike! Why? Because we are dealing with the age old stand-offs that typically occur between boys and girls. It's going straight to my SARAH'S FAVORITES BOOKLIST, and I will be continuing on with the series! This book is perfect as a family read aloud or for your child to enjoy on their own.

The Boys Start the War takes place in West Virginia against the back drop of a small town on a river. The Hatford brothers: Wally, Jake, Josh, and Peter have just endured the moving away of their best friends, the Benson brothers, who lived next door. Anxious to see who moves in, but relieved to know it's a family with boys, they await their arrival. When the day finally comes, they eagerly hide and watch through binoculars as the car doors open. Imagine the horror when instead of boys spilling out, it's a load of three GIRLS! Forget being friends with a bunch of girls! It's now game on to try and get the new family to move away. The only problem is, these girls aren't a bunch of sissies. Everything the Hatford brothers do, the Malloy sisters come back with a vengeance. This book is hilariously fantastic. It puts off Penderwick vibes in the relationship between the siblings with a large scoop of declared neighborhood war mixed in!

HEADS UP - One of the tricks the Hatford boys play on the Malloy sisters includes using a floating Halloween mask in front of their window at night to scare them. If you have a sensitive child, the idea of this might be a bit frightening.