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Gr 5-6 In this offbeat novel, an easily distracted 11-year-old discovers just how apt the name of his new inner-city apartment house is. Perhaps it's the building's barnyard smell or the way landlord Julius Beastly alternates between unshaven stumblebum and nattily attired salesman, but Nickel knows there's something fishy going on-or, to be more precise, gamy. To Nickel, everyone resembles some kind of animal, as do the clouds that he photographs obsessively. And, as his head is usually in those clouds, if it weren't for his alert, ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Eleven-year-old Nickel likes to photograph clouds. When he looks at them, he doesn't just see amorphous white masses. He sees "two puffins dancing" or "a potato beetle munching a potato leaf." Nickel's ability to picture these enchanting scenarios—he imagines everything and everyone as an animal—helps readers adjust their own eyes to take in the marvelous surprises quietly awaiting discovery in Jennings's story. While apartment...Log In or Sign Up to Read More