Iggy

Meet nine-year-old Iggy Frangi. He's not a bad kid, he's really not. Okay, so he's done a few (a few is anything up to 100) bad things. And okay, he's not very sorry about most of them. People make a big deal about nothing. What's a little pancake here and there? Is that something to get mad about? Iggy doesn't think so. No one got hurt, so there's no problem. No one got hurt except for that one time, that one time when the Best Idea Ever turned into the Worst Idea of All Time.

Have you ever heard those words? Sometimes it means "Things got better." That's not what it means in this book. In this book, Iggy gets an idea - a perfectly fine idea - and then, unfortunately, the principal shows up, and then, even more unfortunately, there's an incident with a basketball, and then, before you know it, Iggy's flying through the air.How did it all happen? It's really hard to explain. You'd better listen to the book.

From Iggy's point of view, his plan was genius, pure genius. From Iggy's point of view, he's saved (a) his candy, (b) his family, and (c) the toaster. From Iggy's point of view, he should get a trophy. And respect. And more candy. So what if Rudy Heckie disagrees? Rudy Heckie has been wrong before and he'll be wrong again. Rudy has a scar now, and scars are cool! He should be happy. So should Mr. Heckie. So should Iggy's mom and dad. Everyone should be happy. Specifically, everyone should be happy with Iggy.

Grown-ups are always changing the rules! When grown-ups make money, it’s good. But when Iggy makes money, all of a sudden it’s bad. When grown-ups find something interesting on the sidewalk, it’s finders keepers. But when Iggy finds something (very) interesting, finders keepers turns into You’re In Trouble. Why is Iggy being blamed for something they never said he couldn’t do? What did he do, you ask? Something legendary!

Grownups make no sense at all. They’re nuts about babies, but they tell their 9-year-olds to be more mature. They complain constantly about how old they are, and then they tell their kids to grow up. So when Iggy’s mom and dad say he can’t have a puppy because he’s not mature and responsible, Iggy develops an excellent plan to prove them wrong. Like any great plan, it involves secrecy, strategy, and a chinchilla. There’s also some screaming, but that’s not Iggy’s fault.