FernFolio

Addison Addley has to come up with a 3-minute speech for his Grade 5 public speaking contest. He’s thought of a really great idea for his speech, Things That Aren’t Really There, and both his mom and his best friend Sam, who’s brilliant, have been busy coming up with lots of good example for him, like gravity, atoms, worm holes, and microwaves, but Addison can’t seem to get the speech written. He’s a procrastinator, always ready to put things off to the last minute. While Sam’s busy memorizing his words, Addison is playing video games, going fishing, watching baseball on TV, and contemplating the pointlessness of fractions.
He’s also trying to think of ways to help his mother get elected as treasurer of the Astronomy Club. Ever since his parents got divorced and his father took off to Australia to try his hand at sheep farming, Addison’s mother has been trying one activity after another to meet people. For some reason, she’s now set her heart on the Astronomy Club, and has started spending her evenings outside on the back deck looking at the stars. The trouble is that the president of the Astronomy Club is Mrs. Wilson, mother to the objectionable Tiffany Wilson, who is in Addison’s class. If Mrs. Wilson is anything like her daughter, then charming Mrs. Wilson to help his mother’s cause is going to be tough.
The story culminates in a surprising afternoon of speech making, accusation and revelation, that leads Addison to conclude that maybe it’s time to adjust some of his long-held attitudes.
Part of the wonderful Orca Young Readers series, Addison Addley and the Things That Aren’t There will appeal to late primary and early junior readers, especially boys!
FernFolio Editor