Have you heard about the after
lights-out adventure story delighting young readers and middle graders
who relish roller coaster fantasy and fun?
This adventured filled chapter book series for kids with unforgettable characters
and an astonishing and inventive collection of magical whatchamacallits is called Night Buddies and the first book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is out on a program with the World of Ink Network virtual tours.
Kids everywhere are embarking on adventures chasing down enemies and
cleaning up one mess after another as they solve the earthshaking mysteries with John and his red crocodile Night Buddy Crosley.
A Little about Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare:
Who
stole all the pineapple cheesecakes from the only factory in the world that
makes them? A young boy named John, who is not ready to go to sleep, and his friend, a
bright red crocodile named Crosley who turns up under John’s bed are about to find out. Sneaking out of John’s house using Crosley’s
“I-ain’t-here-doodad” which makes them invisible to John’s parents, the
investigation starts out fine but things get a little crazy when Crosley, who
is allergic to water, gets wet. Hilarious
things happen when Crosley’s allergy to water kicks in, and when they get to
the pineapple cheesecake factory and meet Big Foot Mae, the investigation gets
more complicated and zany than either of them bargained for.
But don't take our word for it. Here is what some of the readers are saying:
School kids (2nd, 3rd,
4th graders) have written to Sands after he's read Night Buddies to them.
All the letters start
with Dear Mr. Hetherington or Dear Sands Hetherington:
"I liked your
story a lot. I also like the way you came up with the I-ain't-here-doodad. When
it is published, I will buy it no matter what!" ~ Your friend, Damian
"Thank you for reading
Night Buddies. I liked it when Crosley drools on the floor. I nearly freaked
out when you did Crosley's voice. I hope you write Night Buddies Two. Yerk!
Yerk! Yerk!" ~ Jeff
"I want your book to
be a passer! A passer is something that if I have children, I can give it to my
children. And if my children have children, they can give it to their children.
That's what I call a passer!" ~ Jaime
"I'll bet your book
will be one of the biggest best sellers all over the world. You have a great
imagination and I really was thrilled with excitement when you first stepped
into our classroom. I really enjoyed your story. Your friend, Larin P.S.
I would say more but I gotta go cause I'm writing this during class." ~ Larin
"I liked the part when
Crosley went yerk, yerk, jerk. I liked when Crosley ate too many cheesecakes. I
like the sounds that you make when you read the story." ~ Your Friend, Jay
"Night Buddies is the
greatest book I've ever heard. Especially Crosley's I-ain't-here-doodad and
when Crosley got wet and did the black bottom dance." ~ Stacy
“I
liked all the things Crosley had, like the I-ain’t-here-doo-dads,
whatchamacallits, and the way he laughed: Yerk! Yerk! Yerk!” ~ Maria B.
“I
loved Night Buddies. It was a great book. To tell you the truth, you read
better than Mrs. Hunt.” ~ Mandy W.
“The
story was great, and I’m not lying to you. I loved the whole thing.” ~ Your
friend, Rick
“I
normally think books are boring, but yours was great!” ~ Rocky
“I
liked the word excelsior. How did you think it up?” ~ Aaron
“I
want one of your books. How much does is cost?” ~ Jaime
“I
thought it was the best story in the world. My favorite part was the part when
Crosley started doing the Black Bottom. I really loved it.” ~ Mary D.
“Night
Buddies is a good story. I like it a lot, especially when Crosley looks at the
pineapple cheesecakes and starts drooling everywhere and when the salamanders
get in the room and can’t get out. Then they start getting sick and some of
them throw up.” ~ Noni M.
“I
like when Crosley locked the iguanas in the spider wire.” ~ Sara T.
“I
think if you draw a picture of a pineapple cheesecake, the next morning it will
be gone! Oh, next time you go somewhere, like to the publishing building, don’t
forget your I.D. gimcrack for a special author!” ~ Maria B.
Night Buddies and the
Pineapple Cheesecake Scare
Sands Hetherington
Illustrations by Jessica Love
List
$7.99
Paperback
128 pages Also available in Kindle and Nook
Publisher:
Dune Buggy Press; One edition (June 1, 2012)
ISBN-10:
0984741712
ISBN-13: 978-0984741717
The
story is filled with well-drawn fascinating characters embellished with some
excellent illustrations by Jessica Love. The fonts change with emotion and
circumstances, a fact that makes every page a little artwork that keep the
child’s eye involved in the book. And just to make sure the youngsters reading
this book have the inside information for a mystery, a glossary of ‘Night
Buddies Uncommon Words’ is supplied – explaining ‘Jeeks’, ‘Wuff’, ‘Snerk!’ etc. The 128-page book is packed with all-new
picture drawings by illustrator Jessica Love.
What
People Are Saying:
“This
little book is a winner!”
—Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Amazon Reviewer
“Hetherington
seems to have the right ingredients for a classic children’s whodunit—talking
animals, an unsolved mystery and a brave hero willing to face unforeseen foes…”
—Kirkus
“Stating
that Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is a creative,
imaginative and delightful tale is simply giving it its just desserts. Yerk!
Yerk! Yerk!”
—
Drew Aquilina, International award-winning cartoonist and author, Green Pieces:
Green From the Pond Up
“Night
Buddies is a terrific story my second and third-graders would love to have read
to them, complete with its colorful dialect. Thanks for the sneak peek!”
—
Lorie Thompson, Principal, Haskell Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified
School District
“Two
unlikely friends-one human and one crocodilian-embark on an adventure to solve
a mystery: where did all the pineapple cheesecakes go? Have fun reading this
lively story.”
—
Diane Witt, Retired Public Elementary School Teacher (30 years), Boulder,
Colorado
“Night
Buddies is visionary, conceptual, and a forecast of fun for children and
schoolteachers alike. Author Sands Hetherington with mastery unveils creativity
with purpose, inventions in language, and makes reading fun.”
—
Al Carrozza, author of Universal Enzyme
“Don’t
miss this wonderful new children’s book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple
Cheesecake Scare. Your children will thank you!”
—
Kathi Macias, award-winning author of more than 30 books including Special
Delivery (Freedom Series)
This
fast-paced, warm-hearted story is written in several amusing dialects and will
appeal to kids from 8 to 10 or 11. Boys who are reluctant readers will
especially enjoy it.”
—
P. Joy Webster, school librarian and author of Don’t come here, Julie! chosen
as Book of the Year 2010 (Young Adult Science Fiction category)
The World of Ink Network has been
touring author Sands Hetherington’s nighttime adventure for kids, Night
Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare published by Dune Buggy Press
all through July and now into August 2012.
About the Author:
Sands
Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands
raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him
every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley
crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take.
Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and
has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro.
He lives in Greensboro.
