In Forgive Us Our Travises, Travis Bee, who is overshadowed by his two older brothers, is an incurable practical joker. As long as he gets a reaction, especially from Mary Beth whom he secretly likes, Travis cruises through his days bugging people. Mary Beth ups the ante by stuffing a raw egg down his pants just as he's about to go on. For a change, Travis sees how it feels to be the object of a prank. Enough tantalizing details of secondary characters are given in each book to entice the reader to get to know them better as main character in the next.
Most children prefer to read about characters slightly older than themselves.
Readers at the high end of the age range for this series may feel the characters are a bit young. The third book, Forgive Us Our Travises , is written in present tense, an effective technique for inviting engagement with the main character. Travis hasn't quite told the truth about the trick. And you can't help but feel sorry for Travis, despite his lengthy prank record, even as you are applauding Mary Beth's plan at the end. It's a brilliant character study.