• This book tells the story of a scientist and his three children who travel back in time to end a family curse and save their mother. Unfortunately, the time machine breaks and they're stuck in 1668, where they have a variety of bizarre adventures in their quest to return home. This fantasy book was very funny and I think that fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders would really enjoy it. The plotline and characters are ridiculous, but I mean that in the best sense possible. Students could read this book during SSR and it could be a fun read-aloud book for the class. I would advise readers to read Dr. Cuthbert Soup's A Whole Nother Story before reading this sequel, though. I did not initially realize that Another Whole Nother Story is the second in a series and it took a bit of time to understand why these wacky events were taking place. ( )

Starting where the first book left off, Ethan Cheeseman and his three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children are traveling back in time to the year 1668 to stop an ancient family curse and save their mother. To do so, they’ll need the help of a group of misfit circus performer/pirates to return a cursed goblet to the rightful owner, the ruler of Denmark. Easy, right? Wrong. Their landing in 1668 is nothing short of bumpy and the time machine needs repairs. To succeed in stopping the curse and repairing the time machine, the misfits set out to restore the goblet while the Cheesmans fix their ride home. The situation only gets worse when the family’s archenemy reappears to destroy them. Having thought they left him tied up in the back of school bus for police, the family doesn’t recognize the now 15 years older and more cunning Mr. Five, Mrs. Cheeseman’s murderer. Well-disguised as an assistant to a friend and former professor of Ethan’s, he is in the perfectly place to carry out his unknown dastardly plans. Will the Cheesemans break the curse? Will they figure out who Mr. Five is before it is too late?

ANOTHER WHOLE NOTHER STORY is a funny, quick read for fans of time travel. The characters are well-developed and even more charming than the first book. The plot is well-developed and fairly fast-paced. With a sock puppet that says funny, sometimes impolite comments, a really cute tour guide that the oldest male Cheeseman child, Chip, make a fool of himself , and other antics that reader will never expect, this book is a great addition to any collection. Just make sure to read WHOLE NOTHER STORY first. ( )

Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com

Starting where the first book left off, Ethan Cheeseman and his three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children are traveling back in time to the year 1668 to stop an ancient family curse and save their mother.

To do so, they'll need the help of a group of misfit circus performer/pirates to return a cursed goblet to its rightful owner, the ruler of Denmark. Easy, right? Wrong. Their landing in 1668 is nothing short of bumpy, and the time machine needs repairs. To succeed in stopping the curse and repairing the machine, the misfits set out to restore the goblet while the Cheesmans fix their ride home.

The situation only gets worse when the family's archenemy reappears to destroy them. Having thought they left him tied up in the back of a school bus for police, the family doesn't recognize the now 15 years older - and more cunning - Mr. Five, Mrs. Cheeseman's murderer. Well-disguised as an assistant to a friend and former professor of Ethan's, he is in the perfect place to carry out his unknown dastardly plans.

Will the Cheesemans break the curse? Will they figure out who Mr. Five is before it's too late?

ANOTHER WHOLE NOTHER STORY is a funny, quick read for fans of time travel tales and action-adventure stories. The characters are well-developed and even more charming than in the first book. The plot is well-developed and fairly fast-paced.

With a sock puppet that says funny, sometimes impolite comments; a really cute tour guide who causes the oldest male Cheeseman child, Chip, to constantly make a fool of himself; and other antics that readers will never expect, this book is a great addition to any collection. Just make sure to read A WHOLE NOTHER STORY first. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 5-8

Plot Summary: Mr. Ethan Cheeseman and his family managed to escape to 1668 in the LVR in order for Jibby to return the stolen chalice to break the curse, but now their time machine is broken. Adventure ensues as Ethan and his children are thought to be witches, board a pirate ship (thankfully Captain Jibby's) and manage to outwit the Mailman in a big storm, and help the real Duke take over from his evil step-twin.

Setting: Shattucktown, 1668, then Boston by boat up the river

Characters:
Dr. Cuthbert Soup - advisor to the ill-advised, director of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice
Mr. Ethan Cheeseman - father, inventor of LVR
Olivia Cheeseman - mother, was murdered by evil characters who want the LVR
Chip Crypton - AKA Barton, Jough Psmythe, Figaro Lowenstein, Antoine Razorback, Lucias Aloisuis von Dignacious III, Don Von St. John, Rory McJagger, Gary Indiana 14 y/o, likes baseball, likes Big
Captain Fabulous Teddy Roosevelt - AKA Crandall Moriarty, Gerard LaFontaine, Ernesto Diablo, Johnny Cigar, Carlton J. Moneypants, Like Tuna, Po Ming, Chance Showers 8 y/o, chews gum at all times to help him think, keeps it on his forehead when he's eating
Rat-Faced Roy - new sock puppet to replace Steve, which was given to Teddy by Olivia before she died, never taken off
"Penny" Penelope Nickelton - AKA Saffron Ponderosa, "Maggie" Magenta-Jean Jurgenson, Lucretia Dee, Paprika Jones, Salmonella Sneezeguard, Shari Chablis, Brooke Babblestone, Calliope Plume 12 y/o, looks like mother
Pinky - hairless dog who became psychic and growls at evil people after drinking Olivia's medication from the toilet
Professory Acorn Boxley
Mr. 5 - AKA Gateman Nametag, evil character from Plexiwave, an evil company that killed Olivia in hopes of getting the LVR, served time in jail and is now an assistant to the professor in the hopes of getting revenge against Ethan and his family
Jibby - head of traveling circus sideshow, hand eaten by tiger and has Swiss army knife instead, captain, truck broke down and the Cheeseman family stopped to help, plays fiddle, needs to return stolen cup to Duke of Denmark in order to get rid of the curse, Chip, Penny, and Teddy's great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather
Three-Eyed Jake - sword swallower who lost an eye
Juanita - Jibby's wife, excellent cook, speaks Spanish
Dizzy - tightrope walker, speaking privileges revoked by Jibby for saying too many stupid things, uses Ethan's earmuffs to help his vertigo
Sammy - strength of 2.5 men but has bad back
Aristotle - psychic with bad memory
Mailman - pirate with lots of rings in his face, wins arm wrestling competition and competes against Dizzy in a balance contest (standing on one foot) to win their ship until the batteries run out on Dizzy's earmuffs, so Jibby and his crew "borrow" their ship since they've sworn not to steal anything after the curse with the chalice
Big - young girl who helps Ethan and his family, Jibby, and Mr. 5 and the professor, but then realizes who is evil and sticks around to continue to help the good guys, dislocates shoulder
Crazy Nellie - saleswoman, sells them boats
Jacques Bon Mot - witch hunter
Mr. Lumley - blacksmith who helps Ethan and his family until Bon Mot comes after them

Recurring Themes: time travel, good vs. evil, good deeds, pirates, running away, dogs, family, friends, baseball, imagination, creativity, empathizer

Controversial Issues: occasional mention of drinking, but usually in relation to pirates

Personal Thoughts: Funny, but may be a little confusing for 6th grade students because there are a lot of characters and a large vocabulary.

Genre: humor, science-fiction, realistic fiction

Pacing: some sections of storytelling go fast, but there are periods where the way it's written gets in the way of the pacing because there are interruptions for short, funny, irrelevant stories

Characters: clearly good or bad

Frame:

Storyline: