Fans of the 13-Story Treehouse illustrated chapter book series will be clamoring to see what the next thirteen stories of the treehouse hold in store for young Andy and Terry in this ninth installment of the super-silly series, while those new to the series can still delight in the absurdity of this story as a stand-alone tale. The book follows their tried-and-true formula, which involves treehouse-dwelling Andy and Terry, accompanied by their animal-loving friend Jill, running around in ridiculous hi-jinks while trying to finish their next book assignment. Illustrator Terry decides to take a crack at authoring this time, and they end up in hot pursuit of the Story Police for “crimes against storytelling”. Similar to Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series, there is also plenty of parody of actual literature within the story as the kids try to outrun the Story Police and find themselves within the pages of other stories, such as “Where the Filed Things Are”, Dr. Moose, and…The Tales of Beatrix Potty.

Adults may find themselves sighing at the absurdity but the kids will be laughing all the way to the end, and they’ll likely want to find out what happens when the treehouse adds its 130th floor. The illustrations are doodle-like and a bit frenzied, but the style lends itself well to the wackiness and breakneck pacing of the story. Be sure to pick this new one up for collections already containing the series. For those that haven’t, consider this one to recommend alongside Dav Pilkey and Jeff Kinney for ages 7-11.

Reviewed by Kat Luedke, Long Island Community Library