Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Budding entrepreneurs will love the unforgettable Cleopatra Edison Oliver in this multiracial, capitalist tale that's equal parts The Lemonade War and Encyclopedia Brown.Cleopatra Edison Oliver has always been an entrepreneur, just like her inspiration, successful businesswoman Fortune A. Davies. So when Cleo's fifth-grade teacher assigns her class a "Passion Project," Cleo comes up with her best business idea yet: the finest "tooth-pulling" company in town. With the help of her best friend Caylee, a Nerf gun, her dad's tablet, and her patented Persuasion Power, Cleo's Quick and Painless Tooth Removal Service starts to take off.But even the best made plans, by the best CEOs, go awry sometimes. A minor barfing incident during a tooth-pulling operation causes Cleo to lose customers. Caylee, initially enthusiastic about the business, grows distant as Cleo neglects their friendship in lieu of getting more customers. And when a mean classmate makes fun of Cleo for being adopted, everything comes crashing down. Will she be able to rescue her business, salvage her friendship with Caylee, and discover that her true home has been here all along?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Frazier (Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It) opens a series by introducing African-American fifth-grader Cleopatra Oliver, who is so determined to be successful that she changes her middle name so her initials are C.E.O. Inspired by her idol, a TV celebrity tycoon, Cleo (who, like her two younger brothers, was adopted by a white mother and a black father) dabbles in some ill-fated moneymaking ventures, including selling avocados from the family trees, and breaks several household rules in the process. When Cleo's teacher assigns a project highlighting students' passions, Cleo eagerly launches a tooth-extracting business, with the aid of her brother's Nerf gun. Not surprisingly, that enterprise backfires, and Cleo is punished for removing her nemesis's tooth with a punch to the face after the girl taunts her for being adopted. Underlying Cleo's questionable financial schemes are poignant plot lines dealing with the toll that her entrepreneurial obsession takes on her relationship with her best friend, the emotional repercussions of being adopted, and the rewards and potential pitfalls of following one's dreams. Ages 8 12.
