Tag Archives: humor

Lumber-Jackula

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written by Mat Hearty and illustrated by Sam Owen

Lumberjackula (or Jack, for short) is at a critical time of his life. He is aging out of of under-school and must decide whether to become a lumberjack like his mom and attend Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep or a vampire like his dad and attend Sorrow’s Gloom Vampire Academy. His parents are very supportive from the start and will be proud of his choice no matter what he does. Yet, Jack is feeling pressure, because he’s not sure he wants to go to either school and follow in his parents’ footsteps. Truthfully, his real passion is dance, which he sneaks of and does when he has the opportunity.

As he is visiting both schools and agonizing over his choices, a new friend enters his life. Plenty is a student at Tip Tap Twinkle Toes Dance Academy and stumbles upon Jack during one of his secret solo dances. She is so impressed that she makes him a map to the dance academy and invites him to come. He makes his way there (past some monsters and a very cool manatee that provides most excellent advice) to discover that dancing is what he is born to do. But, how can he? He as to follow in his parent’s footsteps, doesn’t he?

The rest of the story involves a lot of sneaking around, dancing and a climactic dance recital where Jack’s parents and grandparents discover his talents. They are, as we knew they would, very supportive and excited about Jack’s choices. The end of the story shows students from all three schools and the adults in Jacks’ life connecting through an after-school enrichment program, learning some wonderful skills like hip hop and axe-throwing.

This delightful graphic novel uses accessible text and varying panel configurations and illustrated with clean, boldly colored artwork. While the storyline is somewhat predictable (we readers knew all along that Jack’s parents were supportive and would be fine with his choice), it allows us to enjoy a gentle story of a child (vampire/lumberjack), who is struggling with his view of expectations versus his needs. It’s a lesson on finding your way and being who you really are, not who you think the people around you want you to be. Follow your dreams – be a dancer, a vampire, or a lumberjack. it’s your life and your choice! Highly recommended.

Barb and the Ghost Blade

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by Dan Abdo & Jason Linwood Patterson

This is Book #2 of the Barb the Last Berzerker series and we rejoin Barb, her pal Yeti and various other sidekicks as they continue their quest to save Bailiwick from the evil Witch Head. Barb is a Berzerker, an elite fighter, like her mother and fellow warriors. Her goal is to keep the magical Ghost Blade away from Witch Head, so that he doesn’t destroy Bailiwick. Barb manages to survive a trip to a monster village and rescue her fellow Berzerkers that had fallen under the Witch Head’s spell. Unfortunately, Barb is captured and the story “ends” with her being carried into the Witch Head’s lair. To Be Continued in Book #3.

Fantasy and humor are combined in this brightly drawn graphic novel. The quest is solid and the humor is on the side of ‘potty’ with farts and ‘full moons’. This book and the others in the series might appeal to those students that giggle over that type of humor. It’s unfortunate that the story feels so incomplete without Books #1 and #3. The purchase is a commitment and I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Nugget and Dog: S’more than Meets the Eye!

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Nugget (a chicken nugget) and Dog (a hot dog) are so excited to have some fun at summer camp. Unfortunately, Dijon (yes, he’s mustard) has an evil plan to scare everyone! He and his sidekick, Crouton (self-explanatory) mess up their plan to scare everyone with the Mean Green Pine Thing, which ends up being Honey Dijon (Dijon’s cousin), who just wanted a little attention herself. Rounding out the cast of delicious campers is Fry and the grumpy camp counselor, Grizzle.

This beginning graphic novel begins with some simple information about panels, thought bubbles and speech bubbles as well as how to follow the story on a page. This is very helpful for those readers new to graphic novels. Illustrations are bright and text is simple. This is a nice introduction to graphic novels and is really humorous. How can it not be funny with a hot dog and chicken nugget as main characters? highly recommended.

There’s a Ghost in This House

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Every day students ask me for scary books. Here is one that is more Casper the Friendly Ghost than Elm Street. A girl moves from room to room in her 18th century house looking for ghosts that she has heard live there, but she never sees one. The fun is when you turn the translucent page that overlays where she is looking to reveal the playful ghosts that are having fun hiding from her. Each page has one or two short sentences. This book appeals to young children who enjoy the surprise factor in “lift the flap” books. The illustrations of the rooms are done in brown and cream contrasting the girl who has bright yellow and green. This palette also allows the white ghosts to appear clearly. One consideration, is the translucent ghost pages are less durable that the paper ones. Readers will also want to flip these back and forth several times to make the ghosts appear and disappear, so they will have more use. This is a delightful, engaging book that is a perfect fit for early elementary students.

Thunder and Cluck. Friends do not eat friends by Jill Esbaum

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Thunder and Cluck are an unlikely pair of friends. Of course, they don’t start out as friends, as told in this easy-to-read graphic novel. Big, toothy dino Thunder comes upon small, birdlike dinosaur Cluck and prepares to eat him. But, Cluck doesn’t do what he is supposed to do – run! A discussion ensues, with Cluck attempting to strike up a friendship and Thunder giving all kinds of excuses about how this can’t happen. Suddenly, another large, toothy dinosaur sidles up to eat Cluck and Thunder protects his “little buddy” (his words). He finally acquiesces to a friendship experiment, muttering something about hanging out with Cluck will be …interesting.

This beginning graphic novel is a perfect starting point for new readers. The book’s introduction explains how to read a graphic novel, describing panels and word versus thought bubbles. Each page has one to three panels on it and the colors are bright and bold. The main characters are cartoon dinosaurs – can it get any better? Buy this one for your youngest readers. They will be hooked! Highly recommended.

I love you Fred by Mick Inkpen

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Fred has learned so much in obedience class, things like “sit”, “stay” and “fetch”. But, there is one word that he can’t figure out…”Fred”. What does this mean? How can he do it if he doesn’t understand it? Perhaps the dog in the mirror or in the water knows? Oh, no! He falls in! Luckily, his person saves him and whispers the word “Fred” again and again. A light bulb goes on inside Fred’s head. It’s his name! And, boy, is he excited!

Told in short, accessible sentences, this story is told from Fred’s point of view. He is a pug-like dog, drawn with some pretty spiffy sweatbands on his legs. Expressive illustrations add to the story, which will resonate with young dog owners. A solid purchase, given the popularity of silly dog picture books. Recommended.

This is the Path the Wolf Took by Laura Farina and illustrated by Elina Ellis

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Gabe is reading stories to his little sister and they begin somewhat familiarly. Red Riding Hood, The Three Pigs and other fairy tales flow from his book. But, then the stories always take a turn – to Sir Gabriel saving the day! While this is a totally satisfying way to end a story in Gabe’s mind, his sister has other ideas. She like the scary wolf and the ‘bad stuff’ that happens. But, Gabe doesn’t feel the same way.

Unfortunately, Gabe’s versions are a little boring and he realizes that there has to be some excitement and adventure in order to make the story work. Of course, everyone still lives “happily ever after”.

Fans of fractured fairy tales will enjoy this mix of familiar stories and young readers will delight in naming each as Gabe and his sister waltz through each tale. Cartoon like digital illustrations enhance the fun and Sir Gabriel, even though he is nervous, will still save the day! Additional purchase for those that want to refresh their fractured fairy tales.

Extraordinary Warren’s World

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This darling beginning reader chapter, picture, graphic novel book was written by Sarah Dillard. She masterfully blends a picture book with beginning reading book, and a graphic novel which will appeal to all readers and ability levels. The pictures are charming and will be appealing to younger readers who need the visual cueing and enjoy the illustrations of “Everybody” books. The organization of a beginning reader chapter book with features such as chapters, should appeal to the reader who wish to identify with the format of older students. But, just as appealing is the graphic novel fusion, where reluctant readers usually choose to reside. This book has it all, almost creating a new genre’ which I suspect will appeal to a wide range of readers.

The story is light hearted adventure featuring our main character, Warren, who is a young chicken hoping to learn to fly so he can go to the moon. Supporting characters include the coach, who helps Warren practice flying utilizing activities such as yoga. Once he learns and acquires a “side kick” who was an egg and then a chick. Warren becomes both a role model to the young chick and also a hero as he realizes that rat and fox have nefarious plans for the chicken barn. Very cute book in a boutique series collection! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Extraordinary-Warrens-World/Sarah-Dillard/PIX/9781534463462

Bad Brows by Jason Carter Eaton

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Children’s books can be silly, sad, serious or goofy. But, it is not often that you can call a picture book “absolutely weird”! This story is just that – weird! Bernard wakes up one morning and his eyebrows have taken on a life of their own. He tries to smooth them down, but to no avail. They bunch up, grow to crazy lengths, bush out, tie in knots and all sorts of other strange activity ensues. Bernard has no control over his brows and those around him are offended, angered and stumped by their unruliness (and place a bit of the blame on Bernard). Fortunately, things calm down for Bernard when his real eyebrows return. Apparently, they were on vacation. Hmmm…where did the substitute brow go? The answer is on the last page on his baby sister’s forehead. Oh, no!

Cartoon-like illustrations match the weirdness of the text. Characters are diverse, which is one normal part of this book. Hand this to your readers who like some of the stranger cartoons on television, like Gravity Falls or Steven Universe. They’ll understand this book.

Monica adventures. #1,Who can afford the price of friendship today?! (Monica Adventures, Book 1)

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This is the first graphic novel in a series about the adventures of teenage girl Monica and her friend group, “Monica’s Gang.” It’s actually based on a widely-loved comic strip from Brazil that started in the 1960s. While the insanely popular comics were about the adventures of a group of kids, the graphic novel follows the same group as teens as they try to navigate their changing relationships and new challenges while still maintaining their strong friendships with each other.

            It’s a fun story very reminiscent of Archie comics, and it was neat learning about the comic’s history at the end and noticing sprinklings of the classic comic referenced in the graphic novel. I found I was able to follow along with the story without having any background in the comics previously. The illustrations were fun and the characters were engaging and animated.

            I did find issue with a couple elements in the story that I feel detracted from the book overall. This is intended for kids aged 8-12, but it focused pretty heavily on Monica and her friend J-Five’s growing affection for each other. I wished it was more about their friend group’s random adventures and less about romance. Additionally, Monica’s friend Maggy is really focused on the caloric content of foods. In her character description at the start, the book says she’s “…virtually obsessed with proper nutrition, sports, and exercise…” but instead of showing an interest in nutrition, she just seemed obsessed with how many calories were in what she was eating. There’s also a couple in one scene (page 56) where the girl explains to her date that girls have to care more about calories and fat because “If we were to stop and think like you boys…we wouldn’t have these bodies and we’d have big ol’ bellies!” and then an image is depicted showing a guy with a little bit of a stomach next to a thin girl. She proceeds to tell her date that he should get back to working out more. I know it’s a comic, but these “jokes” fell flat on me and I don’t think they are what we should be encouraging for little kids. I may have felt better if Maggy was shown that eating healthily is about balance (It could have been a good teaching moment.), but instead the other characters just kinda rolled their eyes and got her low-calorie stuff, or they just laughed about it. Pages 12-14 further show strange food comments (“I need to maintain my silhouette, girl!”) and show the girls, all thin with large breasts, in bikinis on the beach.

            Overall, it was a cute story and it’s always fun to see beloved comics get reimagined and reintroduced to new audiences. However, it just doesn’t sit well in a 2020 library, and I wish they had updated their perceptions on body image with their updated look and format.

The Bear Must Go on

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Bear and his friends (Squirrel, Other Squirrel and Rabbit) work together to prepare a really big show for their forest friends. This includes a sparkly curtain, tiny hats for birds and shiny tickets. Bear keeps meticulous notes as the self-appointed “note taker”, because he does not want to perform (he’s nervous). Frenzied preparations ensue and bear takes lots of notes. The big night arrives and all the forest creatures are waiting in the audience. There’s one problem, though. They forgot to write a show! Oh, no!!!

Luckily, Bear comes through and mentions that he has a song that he created. They beg him to perform and he finally agrees. The forest creatures love it! The show is a success! Thanks goodness for Bear.

The story moves along at a quick pace, helped along by the illustrations, some in comic panel-like sequences. Colors are bright and energetic and Bear’s notes are front and center a few times, which help with the busyness of the story. Bear’s nervousness is acknowledged and his bravery in going up to the stage to sing is noted. Maybe, this story will encourage some human friends to work together and put on a show! Recommended.

You Loves Ewe!

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Dim-witted Donkey has so much difficulty with homonyms! And, there are plenty in this book, which is a follow-up to I Yam a Donkey! by Cece Bell.

Donkey comes up to two characters and greets them as fellow donkeys. Yam corrects him and introduces new friend, Ewe, to Donkey, who replies “That is ME? I yam so cute and fluffy!” And, the comical repartee ensues. Yam tries to be helpful. But, he tends to make things more difficult by showing Donkey signs and examples of Doe/Dough, Moose/Mousse and Hare/Hair. The story ends with Ewe professing her love for Ram over Yam (“Eye Dew”) and a tearful Yam being consoled by his buddy, Donkey. Oh, My!

Bright illustrations organized in blocky comic book style accompany text in word bubbles. Young readers may not understand all the comical missteps on their own. But, this is a great introduction to homonyms and can be useful as a teaching tool as well.

Our Principal Breaks a Spell

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Mr. Bundy , principal of P.S. 88, receives an interesting letter and magic powder sample from a mysterious person named Olivia Martin. He is contemplating inviting her to put on an assembly when Roger, a student, comes in to assist Mr. Bundy. Students rotate through daily through Mr. Bundy’s office as helpers and Roger is a great kid. Mr. Bundy gets called out of his office and leaves responsible Roger alone to fold newsletters.

Well, even great kids can get into some mischief and Roger does just that when he sees the magic powder and has the idea to use it to turn the broom into a self-powered sweeper. The broom goes wild and ends up splitting into several brooms along the way as Roger and a few classmates try vainly to stop the craziness. Mr. Bundy steps out to the hall and sees the mayhem, which is now entering the classrooms, runs to his office and calls Olivia Martin for help. She gives him the spell to make everything right and he does so. But, he has a surprise for the students of P.S. 88. Assembly day comes and so does Olivia Martin, swooping in on a glowing broom and sprinkling magic powder around the room. Flying brooms appear and the teachers and students hop aboard for one of the best assemblies ever!

This short chapter book is a nice beginning book for those students that want to try something different than a picture book. Pages explaining the cast of characters and a word list are helpful for young readers. Black and white illustrations are simple and help move the story along. It’s a fun romp of a read for kids and refreshing to see that even the good kids can get into a little mischief sometimes!

Night of the Zombie Zookeeper

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Desmond and his friend, Andres, have great plans for their class field trip to the zoo. Desmond has mapped out the best places to go and when they should be there. Their plans are derailed, though, when they discover a zookeeper that is a zombie. How do they know that he’s a zombie? His greenish skin is a big clue. But, as they follow him (and not their planned route), they see him in the seal tank cleaning the windows without an air tank! Then, he goes into the lion enclosure and feeds the lions by hand. There’s more evidence, but it’s clear already that they have a zombie on their hands. And, why do they care? Desmond and Andres are the Ghost Patrol and they need answers.

They locate a more normal looking zookeeper and tell her about her zombie co-worker. She seems unusually unconcerned about it and sends them away to the picnic area with their class. But, the Ghost Patrol is undeterred. They have a few more crazy encounters with the zombie. He saves Andres from a nasty peacock and his friends, the buffalo and then accidentally tosses slimy animal food all over Andres before saving him from the hungry animals that want to lick all their food off him. Finally, Peggy (the normal zookeeper they spoke with earlier) explains that she knows that “Zoombie” the zookeeper is a zombie. Apparently, zombies make the best zookeepers, because they can clean underwater without air and aren’t grossed out by the nasty food or animal waste they have to clean up. And, the animals love them!

So, Desmond and Andres solve the mystery of the zombie zookeeper and make a new friend in the process. Now, whenever they go to the zoo, they look up Zoombie and he makes sure they have a great time with the animals.

This fun, slightly creepy book will be a hit with the younger crowd. Black and white illustrations add to the mood and the text is accessible. The characters are diverse and likable and the first person narrative (Andre) makes the reader feel as if he is a pal wandering around and chasing zombies with the Ghost Patrol. Recommended.

Mystery Club

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This graphic novel has two stories set in London. Four kids (Tyler, Zoey, Kyle and Ashley) are part of the Mystery Club and are dedicated to solving mysteries involving monsters. In Wild Werewolves, the group solves the sudden appearance of numerous werewolves that roam the city. Mummy Mischief involves a lovelorn mummy roaming the subways. Both stories have an enemy named Harnak that is thwarted by the kids each time.

The stories are light and flow smoothly. The colors are bright and and the illustrations are not overdone. This is a fun, “safe” graphic novel for younger readers and won’t shock anyone. The reading level is set at a 2.8 and interest level at 3-6. But, younger students will certainly understand and enjoy it and your hi-lo readers will appreciate it.

Judy Moody Gets Famous!

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Third grader Judy Moody has many moods and the one we read about here is jealousy. She is jealous of her classmate, Jessica Finch, who gets her picture on the front page of the newspaper for winning the spelling bee. Judy wants that same fame so badly that she will do anything to achieve it. As fans of Judy Moody know, this might backfire and Judy may well become rather infamous instead! Her brother, Stink, appears in this book as well. So, fans of his series may enjoy reading about Stink’s adventures with his sister as well.

Illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds are crisp and realistic, adding to the story as pictures the size of thumbnails to two page spreads. They move the story along nicely and give it a clean, fresh look. The cover art is bright and will attract young readers that might not have found the previous editions as appealing. Recommended.

What is Inside This Box?

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Monkey has a box and tells his friend, Cake, that there is a cat inside. This cat is magic, though. If the box is opened, he disappears! Cake questions this logic and he and Monkey have a spirited discussion about it. Cake is sure that there is no cat in the box, because there is a magic dinosaur in the box. And, this dinosaur disappears when the box is opened. The two friends eventually determine that they will never really know and walk away toward some pie. After they leave, a cat peeks out of the box and rides away on a dinosaur’s back.

This cute nod to Schrodeinger’s cat has simple illustrations on uncluttered pages, reminiscent of Mo Willem’s Elephant & Piggie. The text is dialogue and each character has a different color of speech bubble, making it easy for the reader to determine who is speaking at any given time. The friendship is real and they can agree to disagree in an amicable fashion, which is a lesson in itself. Early readers will enjoy the story and the characters and wonder themselves about the contents of the box!

The Very Impatient Caterpillar

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So, this caterpillar is hanging out with his buddies and notices that they are all heading up a tree. When he asks what they are doing, he is absurdly surprised to hear about something called metamorphosis. Apparently, he is the only caterpillar that doesn’t know about this crazy stuff and he hurries to catch up to his friends. He does okay with the chrysalis-making. But, waiting to metamorphose is soooooo boring and takes sooooo long! He’s positive that he is done and emerges to discover that he is only half way there (ewww – not only does he look funny, he can’t fly at all!). So, he tries again and this time manages to stay in his chrysalis the required two weeks’ time. It is somewhat tortuous (as depicted in a hilarious two page spread), but he finally emerges as a fully developed butterfly vowing to be more patient. But, what is this? His friends are migrating? He joins the journey and says “Are we there yet?”.

Computer generated illustrations lend a comic touch to the story as we watch a young caterpillar dealing with the dreadfully slow process of metamorphosis. This engaging book with its quirky character will delight every budding entomologist as well as those that can sympathize with a small caterpillar’s impatience. Highly recommended!

Snail & Worm: All Day

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Snail and Worm star in three lovely stories in this sweet picture book for early readers. In Best Day Ever, Snail defines a “good day” very differently. His day didn’t go too well, but others had wonderful experiences and he was happy for them; hence, the best day ever! The Spooky Cave is a story about a dragon…er, turtle, that scares Snail enough to cause him to ‘run’ away even though Worm tries to tell Snail that the animal is really a turtle. And, the third story is A Bedtime Story that highlights the sweet relationship of these two friends. The pen and watercolor illustrations lend themselves to the simple story line quite well. Characters’ emotions are displayed and add to the humor of the book.

Give this book to readers who enjoy friendship stories like Elephant and Piggie or Frog and Toad. Snail & Worm have the same sweet, loyal friendship and will be a welcome addition to your collection.

Fear the Bunny

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A tiger happens upon a group of woodland animals listening to the hedgehog reading a book about scary bunnies. That doesn’t sit well with the tiger. So, he tries to explain to them that HE is much more fierce than bunnies. What will they do – cute him to death? He scoffs until a band of headlamp wearing bunnies begin to chase him and the story ends with the tiger reading a story about scary bunnies to a group of animals, including other tigers!

Cartoon-like illustrations accompany a cute story that vaguely references the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake, which is printed at the end of the book. Students will enjoy this slightly scary and cute story, although they might not appreciate its connection to the poem.

Not Your Nest!

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What a fun book! Wait, I should tell you about it first, shouldn’t I? Well, this story is about an industrious, little yellow bird in the African Savanna and his adventures in building a nest. This shouldn’t be a difficult endeavor. But, every time he is returns to his newly completed nest, he is greeted by an animal visitor that plans to claim it as his own. So, he builds another nest and the same thing happens. Nest after nest is claimed by animal after animal (gazelle, gorilla, zebra and so forth), until the poor little bird can take it no longer. He enlists the aid of a wildebeest and in one big “BAM” knocks the animals and nests out of the tree. He sadly looks at his ruined nests and the other animals seem to finally realize the error of their ways. They work diligently to build a huge nest in the tree and gently place the little bird into it. He watches them walk a way dejectedly and shouts “Wait!”, invites them to join him and they gladly do so. The story could end here, but the industrious little bird finishes the story by finishing the project he started a the beginning…building his own nest, which is next to his new animal friends.

This story is brimming with fun and comic wit. While the text is spare, it and the illustrations do a fantastic job of giving us a sense of the animals’ attitudes and feelings. The bird’s growing frustration and fatigue as he tries over and over to just build a nest for himself is perfectly pictured in his expressions and words. The zebra is a little bit pompous and the elephant is a little apologetic. And, we can’t help but be satisfied at the end when the bird finishes what he starts and get the nest he really wanted.

Buy this book and wait for the giggles as you read it out loud to your students. It’s that good!!

I Just Ate My Friend

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Yes, he just ate his friend. So, the not-very-scary monster (even though he ate his friend) looks for a new one. Unfortunately, he’s either too big, too small, too scary, et cetera, et cetera, for all the monsters he encounters. Just when he’s about to give up, a lovely teal monster agrees to be his friend and…eats him! Readers will enjoy this darkly humorous story which is simply told and not very scary. It might lead to a wonderful discussion about how we really should treat our friends. Not eating them would be the first thing, right?

Kiwi Cannot Reach!

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Kiwi has a problem – he wants to pull the rope and he cannot reach it! Will the reader help? This interactive beginning reader is written with cartoon-like illustrations and word bubbles. The sentences are short and the words are accessible, while still moving the story along. Readers who enjoy Elephant & Piggie will giggle along with this fun story about an engaging, but helpless, little kiwi.

Hot Dog Girl by: Jennifer Dugan

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Review Submitted by OHS Student, Aleena L.

Elouise (Lou) is a girl on a mission to win over an already taken guy and prevent the closing of the amusement park she works at. Lou works in a hot dog suit at the park and tries to make her way through life with similar humor. This is a book that reveals common teenage problems while also keeping things light and humorous.

There is nothing particularly great about the author’s writing style or the storyline she works with. It is a book that readers will enjoy, but not remember. Students who like teenage drama and humor will enjoy this book.


Field Tripped

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Fifth graders Eddie, Aaron and their classmates from Liberty Falls Elementary School are on a field trip to the town’s famous inventor’s home – Minks’ Mansion. Eddie, a Minks descendant, has a plan and map. He wants to find hidden inventions that might help his family keep their home. The original Mr. Minks donated his mansion and inventions to the town of Liberty Falls when he died several generations ago. There is another mystery as well. Jessie overhears the tour guide and his helper talking about moving the inventions and believes they plan to steal everything. She just needs to convince her classmates that this is a real thing.

The students, their teacher and principal are touring the mansion and barn when a huge snowstorm hits and forces them to stay the night. Unfortunately, the group is split up and all the adults end up in the barn with a class, while the other class stays in the mansion without adult supervision. Not surprisingly, mayhem ensues. Students get lost, break inventions, scare each other, have a snowball fight and catch a couple of thieves…actually, an innocent tour guide and a principal.

In the end, there is a perfectly good explanation for everything, new friends are made and a mean girl gets her comeuppance. Along the way, the students discover their strengths and make some crazy discoveries of their own.

Each chapter is told in a student’s voice and switches between four different students: Eddie, Jessie, Chloie and Aaron. It takes some time to differentiate between the students. But, as the story unfolds, their voices are stronger and more easily determined. The adults are goofy and the terrible puns are somewhat painful. This is a light, humorous adventure, with a touch of mystery. Additional purchase