The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Almond, David

The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas

234 pp. | Candlewick | August, 2013 | Trade ISBN 978-0-7636-6169-4 $15.99

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. After his parents' deaths, Stanley Potts runs away with a carnival. He meets Pancho Pirelli, who performs the death-defying act of swimming with piranhas. Pirelli takes Stan under his wing, grooming him to become his sidekick and successor. Almond offers up some lighthearted fare, complete with an old-fashioned intrusive narrator and numerous spot illustrations. The silliness is tempered by unsentimental, clear-eyed wisdom.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013