Welcome to Boomtown, the home of Chang's Famous Fireworks Factory! It's appropriate that in Boomtown, everyone's favorite thing to do is to blow things up. Just make sure you stay away from the chickens, though. In this humorous mystery and adventure story, you'll see miracles, explosions, escapes, and you'll meet the strangest collection of characters you've ever seen! Boomtown is a tall tale of a fictional town that's the home of not only Chang's Famous Fireworks factory, but also the Slush Olympics, the "Fighting Slugs" football team, rocket reindeer, and flying barber chairs. But underneath all the humor, Boomtown asks and answers the more serious question, "What does a healthy community look like?" as you see how these odd residents struggle to learn to trust their neighbors. Filled with action, adventure and over 85 drawings and maps, young readers, especially boys, will be inspired to love reading. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Imagine a place where everyone’s favorite thing to do is blow stuff up . . . that’s Boomtown.
This is a humerous mystery and adventure story that kids (especially boys) will love to read! Boomtown is the home of Chang’s Famous Fireworks factory, the Slush Olympics, the "Fighting Slugs" football team, rocket reindeer, and flying barber chairs. Boomtown is a humorous tall tale about a fictional town and its odd residents, written to capture the attention and inspire the imagination of intermediate readers. It’s a fun read. However, underneath the humorous veneer, Boomtown asks and answers the question, "What does a healthy community look like?" The main characters struggle as they learn to trust their neighbors.
Visit the Web site www.visitboomtown.com for more information on the book, author, free teacher guides, and more! But stay away from the chickens!
You’re in for a blast when you read this one! A real blast, as well as an exploding mystery will keep you reading this Boomtown saga.
All of Boomtown, Oregon, is rife with explosions - after all, it owes its very existence to a fireworks factory. A pastor comes to town to take up a pastorate, which seems to have had an awful lot of ministers who - well, to put it mildly - boomed and then had to be replaced. Not only is the town volatile, this pastor’s children tend to be that way too. It’s hard for him to keep up with everything, especially the mystery surrounding his thirteen-year-old son, Johnny, and all the other TNT type boys he gets to know.
Buried within this wild plot are many lessons about Christians coping with each other, and the best ways of providing the hospitality endorsed by 1 Peter 4:9: “Be ungrudgingly hospitable to one another.” As the plot grows, other Christian ideas grow, including living life without fear, and little is much when God is in it. All that is required of the reader is to enjoy this book. The Christian lessons will just surface on their own.
Chang’s Fireworks… makes can’t-put-it-down reading for the individual. It also lends itself magnificently to being read out loud. In the introduction, Marty Longe (oops, I mean Nowen N. Particular) introduces you to all the authors he loves: from C.S. Lewis to Roald Dahl, from J. R. R. Tolkien to Dr. Seuss, and beyond. If you are observant you’ll recognize their handprints in this book. -- Donna Eggett, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
Average Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars(3.5 out of 5 stars)
6 of 6 Reviews Showing:
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Nancy (Martin), December 25, 2009
This was a great family read. We laughed until we cried. We are looking forward to a sequel. We love the mystery of Nowen N. Particular.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jean (Seattle, WA), December 29, 2008
The description of this book sounded very intriguing and I thought it would be a great book to read to my son. Filled with tall tales, adventure, and lots of exploding scenarios, this book had serious potential. To sum it up, it is about a pastor who moves to Boomtown, WA which is named after a man who started a fireworks factory there. The people are not what the man, or his family expected, nor was the town normal by any means. A sense of community that was not typical was found by the pastor and the issue of trust was raised throughout the story. Trust between the father and his son, between the father and the community, between the father and his past.
Sadly to say, it wasn't a booming experience to read. I struggled through it and forced myself even to finish it. It had such potential, but it wasn't there. There was really no depth to the plot, it seemed to weigh heavily on the past history of the town rather than on the current situations and even though the father (which the story was narrated by) learned a great deal about himself (or so he said), it was a let down by the end. I actually was a bit perturbed and saddened by the father at the end as he only thought of himself and uprooted his entire family after only a year because he was afraid. So he went to pastor somewhere "safe".
Even though I didn't enjoy the end, I kept my mind open and there was still no thrill or anticipation picking this book up. Great imagination by the author, but lack there of in other departments.
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Stephanie's Mommy Brain (Rhode Island), December 28, 2008
Boomtown tells the story of Reverend Arthur Button and his family as they settle into life in Boomtown, Washington. A life that Rev. Button was NOT prepared for! But one he's determined to keep after hearing that all 24 of his predecessors at Boomtown Church have died in bizarre mishaps.
I read this book aloud with my 5 year old son expecting lots or word play, puns, adventures and wacky characters. Our expectations were not disappointed. Only in Boomtown will you find a sheriff named Burton Ernie, fireworks at every holiday, and townspeople filled with grace and forgiveness.
My son has thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Rev. Button and his family. I think boys of all ages, especially tweens, will enjoy the fun spirit of Boomtown's residents.
[Spoiler Alert] Before handing this book to your tween son you should be aware that one chapter deals with a baby, born to young unmarried parents, who is left on the Buttons' doorstep. I was unprepared for this subplot in a book about exploding hen grenades and rocket Santas. The author handles the topic with grace but the resulting conversation I had with my son about adoption was not one I had expected when I started the book. Also, the baby's parents are of different races (in a book set in 1950 when such a thing was a big deal) which went unnoticed by my five year old but could raise questions with a tween.
Overall Boomtown is a fun and interesting story best read as a family with an awareness of potential for deeper parent-child discussions.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Janna Ryan (North Platte, NE), December 23, 2008
I don't know if you caught the author's name or not, but the whole book is like that, full of jokes and puns interwoven into this amazingly unusual storyline. For instance, the pastor's family moves into town and are getting introduced to different people in town. See if you can catch two funny parts about this : "We were introduced to the town sheriff, Burton Ernie, and his charming wife, Laverne. We met Vera DeFazio, the song leader for that morning," ... Did you catch it? You have to read it out loud and think of Sesame Street to get one and then skip a couple words in between and think about an old comedy about 2 best friends to get the other one. I figure the book is packed with a bunch of stuff like this and I only caught some of it. That part just tickled my funnybone.
The storyline had me laughing out loud. Here is a town where the worse things go for the straight laced pastor and his family, the more the town loves him. The high school football team (40 year losing streak and the mascot - Stickville Slugs) is a riot, the fireworks factory blows up the day the pastor arrives in town (thanks to his kids), the 24 previous pastors at his new church have all met untimely demises and now Pastor Arthur Button is scared to death that he is next! Bicycle Slushathons, Exploding Elves, Rocket Reindeer, Baseball Bazookas, Hen Grenades and flying barber chairs and a mystery that ties it all together... this book is packed from page 1 to the end. I had a blast with it and look forward to the next one. I think this would make a good read aloud for the family or tweens and teens would have a blast with it too. If you like the unusual - pick this one!
2.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Alyssa (Newberg,OR), November 30, 2008
Boomtown is a humorous, tall tale, adventure book for kids. It all starts with the Button family arriving in Boomtown. They have many outrageous adventures. The people of Boomtown are eccentric to say the least. They love blowing stuff up...you will learn about all kinds of crazy explosives such as hen grenades, exploding elves, and lots more. And yet, the people of Boomtown are very nice and welcoming. Once moved in, the Button family come into contact with surprise after surprise. You would not believe all the different inventions they learn about. Soon, a mystery surfaces. Things begin disappearing. What’s going on? The book sounds pretty good, does it not? However, there were some things I did not like about the book. In one chapter, I thought they were disrespectful toward the Holy Spirit. I also did not appreciate them trying to make something seem like a "curse". Finally, the kids are disobedient, the wife is not supportive, and both the kids and wife are demanding and inconsiderate. They are not what you would call good role models. They make it a joke that the kids get into so much trouble and the kids do not seem to get punished for it! I personally would not pay money for this book. Also, because of all these things, I would not recommend it to others.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by shane taylor (seattle, WA), November 01, 2008
What would it be like to move to a new town where the hostess of the welcome wagon greets you with a deluxe 150 pound box of Chang’s famous fireworks? My 7 year old son and I just finished reading “Boomtown” and we are ready to move there. What kid (or parent) wouldn’t want to live in a town where the people add fireworks and fun to every holiday? So in the spirit of celebrating the wonderful imagination that Boomtown inspires, I can tell you that Nowen N. Particular’s book soars like a bottle rocket with mysterious turns, explodes with bigger than life characters that get into crazy situations and shines like a fountain of colorful sparks that celebrate being good, trusting your family, and caring for people that are not like you.
I recommend this book to anyone that likes adventure, inventions, and chickens that lay exploding eggs. Nowen’s book challenged me and my son to express love and mercy to people that can be odd, different and difficult. We also learned that we should trust one another and tell each other the truth. This is the kind of book that I love reading with my son. This novel is wholesome and it paints a picture of the kind of community that I not only want to live in. . . I want to help create it.
BTW – My son and I loved the photos, maps and illustrations that were sprinkled throughout every chapter.
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