Calvin Coconut Series

There are zombies at Kailua beach!! Well, kind of. Fourth-grader Calvin Coconut and his friends have been recruited by Benny Obi (the boy from Kung Fooey who liked to tell crazy stories and ate bugs) to be extras in his uncle’s movie: Zombie Zoomba! And who ends up with an actual part? Calvin’s babysitter, Stella.

Calvin’s dad is a famous pop singer, and he’s going to be in a concert on the island! Everyone wants to go. Dad gave Calvin’s mom 10 tickets, and Calvin has to decide who gets the last ticket: teacher’s pet Shayla, who has a crush on him (ick!) or Tito the bully? But much more important: Calvin  hasn’t seen his dad in four years. And he’s never met Dad’s new wife. Will Dad still like Calvin now?

Calvin and his mom’s boyfriend, Ledward, are good friends. When Ledward wins plane tickets, he invites Calvin to fly to Hawaii, the Big Island, for a day, and go deep-sea fishing. Wow! Calvin’s never been on a plane, or any boat but his skiff. What a day—Calvin catches his first big fish, an ono. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when Ledward hooks a huge and very angry marlin that charges the boat!

Fishing with Ledward opens Calvin’s eyes to adventure and to important ideas about respecting nature.

Calvin Coconut’s fourth-grade class meets Benni Obi, a weird and likable new kid. Benny brags about knowing kung fu, eats worms, crickets, and chocolate-covered scorpions, and says all the wrong things to bully Tito. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, neighborhood kids and pets clear the road—Calvin’s babysitter Stella is learning how to drive. She’s got a lead foot.

Readers will enjoy the humor in Kung Fooey as Calvin’s smarts and courage help him learn something new about standing up for friends, and facing a bully.

Hawaii boy Calvin Coconut has come up with the best idea ever for his sister Darci’s birthday party. But a huge tropical storm hits the islands and threatens everything. It rains and rains. And rains.

The river next to Calvin’s house rises high. When Calvin’s friend Willy falls into the raging water, Calvin grabs his skiff to save him. As Willy is swept into the bay, Calvin struggles in the wild waves. What happens next shows Calvin what heroes are made of.

Calvin’s mom says his new dog Streak smells bad.  Especially her breath. Calvin’s convinced that Streak’s stink is a good one, but he’s worried. If he doesn’t solve Streak’s problem soon, mom might make him give his beloved new dog back to the shelter. So when his teacher assigns his students a discovery project, Calvin decides to discover the worst stinks—and find a solution to Streak’s bad breath.

What do you want so badly that you can taste it—and can you persuade someone to give it to you? That’s the subject of a fourth-grade writing assignment. Calvin wants a dog! He reads what he’s written to his mom to see just how persuasive he can be. No way, Mom says: Calvin is too irresponsible to care for a pet.  Luckily, Mom’s boyfriend, Ledward, is on Calvin’s side. He takes Calvin to a place he calls dog heaven. There Calvin meets the dog of his dreams—Streak. Now Calvin’s got to convince Mom he’s dog-responsible, because he and Streak belong together!

Calvin Coconut needs to fix things with Stella—and fast!

Stella from Texas is now officially a member of the Coconut household. As if getting a bossy babysitter isn’t bad enough for Calvin, Stella teases him mercilessly. What’s a nine-year-old boy to do? Calvin decides to “fix” her, and he dumps his neighbor’s cat Zippy on Stella’s bed, knowing she’s allergic. But when Stella breaks out in hives and misses her first big date, Calvin realizes his “zippy fix” went too far. He’s got to make it up to her, and decides to give her a birthday present. But he has no money. Along with the help of his loyal friends and little sister, Darci, Calvin works hard, and comes up with enough cash to give Stella the best birthday gift ever.

Graham Salisbury’s voice perfectly captures the inner workings of Calvin’s mind, and Jacqueline Rogers’ delightful pictures add zest and humor to The Zippy Fix.

A humorous chapter book about a fourth-grade boy, full of the fun of growing up in Hawaii.
 
Calvin Coconut lives near the beach in Kailua, Hawaii, with his mom and his little sister. All his friends live there, too.


Mom says: “You’re the man of the house, Cal.” Which means: Be responsible. Calvin tries, but fun—and trouble—follows him wherever he goes, even in the classroom, also known as Mr. Purdy’s Fourth-Grade Boot Camp. And how can he be the man of the house after teenage Stella-from-Texas arrives to be the live-in babysitter and steps all over Calvin’s turf?

Award-winning author Graham Salisbury welcomes younger readers to a lively new series with great illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers.