Roosevelt Banks and the Attic of Doom by Laurie Calkhoven
Change can be challenging for people of all ages. Coming to grips with new phases in life can be hard to overcome, and no one knows this better than Roosevelt Banks. Roosevelt Banks and the Attic of Doom by Laurie Calkhoven (One Elm Books) is about coming to terms with change, managing expectations, and, ultimately, banishing ghosts.
WHILE THE LADIES ARE AWAY, THE BOYS WILL PLAY!
Roosevelt Banks is heading into his summer vacation with so much excitement! Mom will be away teaching summer school, and little sister Kennedy will be in daycare every day, thus, kicking off what will be known as the SUMMER OF DAD! Roosevelt expects his SUMMER OF DAD to be filled with bike rides, camping, baseball games and living in the forest like mountain men. Long gone will be the days of mom telling them when to change their underwear and frilly tea parties with little sisters. Little does he know; his dad has other plans. Upon arriving home, he finds dad remodeling a room in the house. Not just any room … THE ATTIC OF DOOM, aka Roosevelt’s new bedroom! Mom and Dad dropped the bomb that a new baby is coming, so, to make room, he will be forced to live up in the attic. Legend has it (legend being Roosevelt’s friend, Eddie Spaghetti) the attic is filled with ghosts because of all the creaking and squeaking that goes on up there. Roosevelt must find a way to talk his dad into leaving the attic alone and leaving all its spooky inhabitants trapped, or his SUMMER OF DAD will quickly turn into THE SUMMER OF GHOSTS!!!
Armed to the teeth with stink bombs, smelly eggs, old lady opera and slime, Roosevelt and friends set off on Operation Banish Ghosts. This, of course, isn’t the best course of action. While his method may (or may not) have caused the ghosts to flee, it also filled the entire house with an awful stench! At least this way, he could cross one thing off his summer list: sleeping in a tent! Roosevelt is forced to face his fears not only of the ghosts but that he is no longer wanted by his parents. While moving Roosevelt into his new room, Dad finds all the activities he planned for SUMMER OF DAD. Dad has realized that the summer has been pretty lame so far and vows to make time crossing activities off the list. Father and Son, just like he’s always wanted.
A SUMMER OF FACING YOUR FEARS
With the smell (and ghost) vacated, Roosevelt’s new and improved ATTIC OF DUDES, formally known as ATTIC OF DOOM, is ready for its inaugural sleepover! Not because he’s scared, though. Having finally had a dose of summer fun, faced his fears, and has a new baby sister at home, Roosevelt has turned what he thought would be SUMMER OF DAD into SUMMER OF THE BIG BROTHER.
Roosevelt Banks and the Attic of Doom has many lessons that children and adults can learn from. Seeing Roosevelt filled to the brim with excitement for his summer of adventure only to be quickly filled with disappointment with the news of his (what he would call) exile, and new baby sister, taking matters into his own hands to banish the ghosts, facing his fears and ultimately growing up to be the best big brother! It’s positively heartwarming!
