Adventures With Ragweed by Linda Lou Crosby

Illustrations by Andy Atkins

Genre: Childrens short stories, family, adventure

Release Date: September 26, 2013

Publisher: Neon Lights

Format: ebook                     Pages: 88

Sources: Publisher

Goodreads Synopsis

Adventures with Ragweed is a collection of humorous short stories filled with adventure and family themes. Ragweed is a tribute to the whimsical part of each of us. Follow this young teen and her best friend, Marney as they travel to Mexico for a fishing trip where the family is to shoot a pilot for a television show instead find themselves in an unexpected sea storm. Laugh out loud as Ragweed takes on the tennis elite at the country club or attempts to rearrange their perfectly cut lawns. Always one to learn new things, this young freckled face gal with the unruly blonde hair builds a float, rides a horse and grows a garden. Each task done with her own unique vies of the world. These stories are meant to entertain. It's difficult to narrow it down to one specific genre as the book is a collection of short stories suitable for young adults as well as for an older crowd with a sense of humor. Family Relationships, Friendships, Essays and Humor are categories all presented within the pages of this book. May you enjoy each tale as much as Ragweed enjoyed living the adventures

My Thoughts: 

The Cover: I loved the cover for Adventures with Ragweed. What a sweet, whimsical drawing, predicting a book of light, funny adventures with a happy-go-lucky young lady and her best friend. I really liked the artwork throughout the book and think it is very cute.

The Plot:  The plots to the several adventure stories about Ragweed are well written, fun and easy reads. Poor Ragweed, has the best of intentions; but really does not have any luck at all. My daughter really enjoyed Ragweed's adventures and I enjoyed reading them to her. Definitely not a normal read for me, I am glad that we gave this book a try, as she found the stories were very entertaining. A great, funny read for younger kids.

The Characters: I liked Ragweed! She was just so cute! She reminded me a lot of my little girl, always thinking, and always up to no good! The characters were well written and greatly entertaining for young kids. Poor Marney, getting dragged into Ragweed's misfortunes!

Is it Worth Reading?:  Yes, it was a good, cute read, for young kids (I cannot stress that enough) I do recommend this for a younger audience. My daughter is 8 and found them entertaining; I personally as an adult, was bored and would not have finished it if I had not been sharing them with her. I will not use my traditional crossbows, as this is for young kids, so I give it 3 out of 5 horseshoes.