BOOKTALK: Impetuous R., Secret Agent (Grades 4-6)

 

Conly, Jane Lesley. 2008. Impetuous R., Secret Agent. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

            Impetuous R., or Impy as his family calls him, seems like any other kid. He likes music and playing with his friends. He goes to school. He hates when the adults treat him like a little kid. He’s curious; he gets into mischief. The only difference is that Impy is a cockroach.

Impy lives with his mother, siblings in a large roach colony at Pop’s Corner, a jazz club in Baltimore, Maryland. Pop’s Corner is owned by Pops Wiggins, a human who lives with his wife in an apartment above the club. When the roaches discover that Pops owes over $11,000 to the bank and the IRS, and that Pop’s Corner could be auctioned off, causing them to lose their home, they spring into action. Impy and his friends are upset at first that, as nymphs, or roach children, they are not allowed to help with the adults’ plans. Then they start coming up with ideas of their own. First, they write a letter to Louis Armstrong, asking for him to come perform a benefit concert to raise money for Pops. When that doesn’t work, Impy decides he needs to go outside the colony for help.

It’s against the rules for the nymphs to leave the safety of Pop’s Corner, but Impy risks getting in trouble (and his life!) to put his plan into action. He travels two blocks from the club to post a message for his father, a famous world-traveler. Even though he doesn’t know where his father is, he knows that roaches who see the message will pass it on, and maybe, just maybe, his father will get the message and will save the day. Does Impy’s dad get the message? Are the roaches able to help save Pop’s Corner? You’ll find out if you read Impetuous R., Secret Agent.