Roscoe Riley Rules 4 – Never Swim in Applesauce

Katherine Applegate's Never Swim in Applesauce is a school story for 6 year olds narrated by a boy who is, once again, sitting in time-out.

What happens

Roscoe Riley tells you where he is before he tells you anything else. Stuck in time-out. Again. And he's got a story for you.

A very sticky story.

His class went to an apple orchard. There was a rule about not jumping into a giant tub of applesauce. Roscoe didn't know about the rule.

That's the frame, and then he goes right back to the beginning and takes a lovely long time getting there.

The whole pleasure of it is the way Roscoe's head works. A field trip, he explains, is "when you go somewhere more fun than even recess and lunch put together". His teacher announces things "with tons of exclamation points in her voice". He describes himself, with complete confidence, as a retired kindergartner who helps his brand new teacher out whenever he can.

He also can't stop talking. He starts answering, remembers halfway through that you're supposed to put your hand up first, and shoves it in the air while carrying on regardless.

If you've got a child who arrives home and delivers the entire day in one breath, Roscoe will be instantly familiar.

There's nothing here to warn about. No peril, nobody frightened, no feelings badly hurt. The worst thing that happens to anybody is being covered in apple.

Two practical things. The copyright page inside says this is the fourth Roscoe Riley Rules book, which our shelf title doesn't tell you. It reads perfectly well on its own, because Roscoe introduces himself from scratch every time.

And it's thoroughly American. Field trips, recess, kindergarten, moms, a teacher with a gong. Most six year olds sail straight past all that. A few will stop and ask what recess is.

The chapters are very short, and two of them are one joke each about worms and about boy-flavoured applesauce, which is exactly the sort of thing that makes a child who isn't sure about chapter books feel like they're getting somewhere.

What to read next

If Roscoe suits, Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs is the one that started him off, and that title isn't a metaphor.