A Whole Nother Story facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Dr. Cuthbert Soup |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jeffrey Stewart |
| Cover artist | Jeffrey Stewart |
| Country | U.S |
| Language | English |
| Series | Whole Nother Story Series |
| Published | 9/28/2010 |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781599905181 |
| Followed by | Another Whole Nother Story |
A Whole Nother Story is a children's book of spy fiction published in 2010 by Dr. Cuthbert Soup. It is his debut novel.
Contents
Plot
The story begins by introducing the Cheeseman family: the scientist Mr. Ethan Cheeseman, his wife Olivia, three 'attractive, witty, and relatively odor-free' children and the family pets; a psychic dog named Pinky, and Steve, a talking sock puppet.
Ethan and his wife are about to complete a time machine, and two top-secret agents show up to steal it. Initially, the antagonists use diplomacy, claiming that they need the invention for "the greater good". Their motives are suspect, and Olivia, realizing this, refuses. Shortly thereafter, Olivia contacts a mysterious illness and dies.
The family initially grieves but not for long. They are being targeted and followed.by many people. The agents are revealed as employees for a weapons developer. Ethan plans to travel back in time, reunite with his wife, and escape pursuit; but the time machine isn't working. He, his family, and the machine take to the road in a station wagon.
Pursued by the incompetent but determined agents, the Cheeseman family is forced to flee repeatedly. During their travels they encounter a number of other wanderers.
Recurring gags
The story has many recurring gags; for example, Dr. Soup's end-of-chapter 'unsolicited' advice. The Cheeseman kids also rename themselves with every move, with humorous results.
Characters
- Ethan Cheeseman- A "Scientist of Tomorrow" who has built a time machine, named the Luminal Velocity Regulator (abbreviated the LVR).
- Olivia Cheeseman- Ethan's wife, who has died before the events of this novel.
- Jough Psymthe- Ethan's eldest son; he is fourteen. This is the name he goes by for the majority of the book.
- Magenta-Jean "Maggie" Jurgenson- Ethan's daughter; she is twelve. This is the name she goes by for the majority of the book. Maggie is very fond of her long auburn hair, which reminds her of her mother.
- Gerard LaFontaine- Ethan's youngest son; he is eight. This is the name he goes by for the majority of the book. Has a big imagination. Also has a sock puppet named Steve.
- Pinky- The Cheesemans' hairless dog who is psychic and can forewarn danger.
- Captain Jibby Lodbrok- Olivia's great-great-great-great-great grandfather from the year 1668. He is a pirate. He and his crew have traveled from 1668 to the twenty-first century due to a lightning bolt. His crew also works as a circus.
- Three-Eyed Jake- One of Captain Jibby's crew. Is Captain Jibby's best friend. He is called Three-Eyed Jake because of his glasses and his eyepatch.
- Dizzy- One of Captain Jibby's crew. Suffers from vertigo.
- Aristotle- One of Captain Jibby's crew. Is a psychic with short-term memory loss.
- Sammy- One of Captain Jibby's crew. Has the strength of two and a half men, but has a back injury.
- Juanita- Captain Jibby's wife.
- Mr. 5- The main villain of the story; he works for an evil weapons company named Plexiwave.
- Mr. 29, Mr. 88, Mr. 207- Mr. 5's evil henchmen who also work for Plexiwave. They are not too bright.
- Aitch Dee- A top-secret government agent; he is shaped like a kite.
- El Kyoo- A top-secret government agent who works with Aitch Dee; he is shaped like a bowling pin.
- Pavel Dushenko- A foreign spy who wants the LVR.
- Leon- Pavel Dushenko's sidekick who is a monkey. Loves to look at the fish in his aquarium.
- Buck Weston- A cowboy the Cheesemans meet while moving towns. He wants to be a poet.
- Elliot Walsingham- Jough's friend he makes in the town the Cheesemans move into. He plays the bass drum and wants to be an attorney.
- Aurora Codgill- Maggie's friend she makes in the town the Cheesemans move into. She is an artist. She has two younger brothers, Danny and Tommy.
- Danny and Tommy Codgill- Gerard's friends he makes in the town the Cheesemans move into. They are brothers who have a secret spy fort. They have a sister, Aurora.
Awards
A Whole Nother Story was selected by Kirkus Reviews at the end of the year as one of the best children's books of 2010.
It has been selected by The Junior Library Guild.
Sequel
Owing to the success of A Whole Nother Story, Dr. Soup wrote a sequel entitled Another Whole Nother Story, released on February 24, 2012.
