There’s nothing Jake likes more than some good trash-picking, so when his elderly neighbors move out and leave an especially promising looking pile of household refuse on the curb, he goes right for it. He only has the chance to grab one box before his mom catches him and orders him in for dinner, though.
When mysterious goings-on begin to occur in the neighborhood, the trio investigates the hidden box from Jack’s garage. In it, they find the Secret Parent’s Handbook and with it all the means to subvert the irrational rules and petty tyranny of their home lives. No more clean rooms! No more vegetables! No more brushed hair or washed hands! It’s all video games and junk food all the time!
But the authorities—and the resistanc —have taken notice of the strange goings-on in Jack and his friends’ neighborhood. And they are closing in.
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“In this kooky neighborhood caper…it’s slapstick comedy meets conspiracy thriller, and it makes a good case for better, more open parent-child communication.”
— Publishers Weekly
“A middle-grade dystopia with echoes of George Orwell’s 1984…[for] kids who like subversive, authority-challenging humor.”
— School Library JournalBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jim Benton is the creator of many licensed properties, some for big kids, some for little kids, and some for grown-ups who, frankly, are probably behaving like little kids. He is the creator of the picture book The End (Almost) and bestselling series Dear Dumb Diary. Jim lives in Michigan with his spectacular wife and kids.
Ramón de Ocampo, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, was a cowinner in 2018 of the Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, he has been seen on television, film, and stages all over the world, including recurring roles on such television shows as The West Wing, 12 Monkeys, Sons of Anarchy, and Medium. He is the winner of a prestigious Obie Award for his stage work.