Grade Level: 4-6 Age Level: 8 and up Listening Level: Grades 4-6
The young Bellweathers ? fourteen-year-old Spider, thirteen-year-old Ninda, and the nine-year-old triplets, Brick, Spike, and Sassy ? and their equally peculiar parents have brought constant chaos to the once-peaceful village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay. Still, no one has suffered more than their loyal butler, Benway, who has finally had enough. He is secretly writing his tell-all memoirs, packing his bags, and planning his move to a tropical location, Far, Far Away.
But when the siblings discover Benway is preparing to leave their lighthouse home, they band together to prove how much he's needed, as only Bellweathers can. . . .
Full of comic capers and close calls, an art heist, albino alligators, and good intentions gone wrong, Kristin Clark Venuti's hilarious debut novel introduces a new family that is absolutely unforgettable.
Following in Lemony Snicket's footsteps, Kristin Clark Venuti has created an off-kilter world to tickle the preteen funny bone. Michael Page is Benway, butler to the family Bellweather, eccentric residents of Lighthouse on the Hill in the village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay. He has the elocution of one who graduated first in his class at butler academy. His great-great-great-grandfather swore his family's oath of fealty to Horatio Bellweather and his descendants for two hundred years; the oath finally expires in eight weeks, two hours, and 27 minutes. Michael Page reads Benway's memoir as he counts down the weeks, hours, and minutes to his eagerly anticipated retirement in the quiet tropical paradise of Far, Far Away. Page delivers the detachment one would expect from such an outstanding butler. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Kristin Clark Venuti always knew she wanted to be a writer - like some members of the zany Bellweather family, she wrote on anything she could while growing up, including the walls of her house and the fur (with blueberry ink) of her good natured and understanding white dog. She lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. This is her first novel.
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