Cheesie Mack

Book 1

Mystery, mice, and money at the end of fifth grade!

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Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything

Book 1 in the Cheesie Mack Series

Here are all the links I promised I would put on my website:

  1. Tell me if you liked this book… or if you didn’t… or whatever.
  2. Unusual grandparent nicknames.
  3. Countries with money that doesn’t break into hundredths.
  4. Guess what it will cost to mail a letter fifty years from now.
  5. Images of cool stamps and your made-up captions to go with them.
  6. Anything about frog and toad leg lengths.
  7. Excellent rodent jokes to add to my collection.
  8. Have you seen a vampire or, even better, been bitten by one?
  9. The answer to my puzzle: eighty-three cents in four U.S. coins.
  10. Cool words that sound like what they mean.
  11. Which three words is “skivolvunged” a combo of?
  12. Vote for your favorite food.
  13. How to toss things over your head backward with your toes.
  14. Other names for sow bugs… and my science report.
  15. What was the evidence in Goon’s pocket?
  16. Glenn Philips’ “a half of a time” explanation.
  17. Determining if Glenora Jean Prott was a Ms. or a Mrs.
  18. Cheesie’s and Georgie’s junk food presentation.
  19. Six U.S. pennies minted in 1909.
  20. The Harder/Bigger Word Game (THABIWOGA). [It doesn’t work. I’m a dud!]
  21. The title of my next book.
  22. Do you know why Eureka was dented into the paper in the envelope?
  23. All about my last birthday party… and tell me about yours.
  24. Where to say hi. Or leave a comment. (I hope you do!)

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Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything

Book 1 in the Cheesie Mack Series

The Original Cover

Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or AnythingThe original cover of this book—and Book 2—(both illustrated by Adam McCauley) have been replaced by new ones (illustrated by Douglas Holgate) because the people who publish my books thought my covers would look better with much bigger pictures of me. (Don’t start saying I’m conceited. It wasn’t my idea.)

There are lots of characters in my books, and most of them were pictured on the original covers. If you don’t know who everyone is, click here for a rundown.

Read more→

Part of my book you can read now!

Excerpted from: Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything

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CHAPTER 2:
My Best Friend Screams

The phone call was from Georgie Sinkoff, my best friend.

“GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!” he screamed into my ear before I could finish saying hello. And then he hung up on me.

I ran outside, yelled to Mom where I was going, and sprinted into the gully behind my house, which is in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where I have lived my whole life.

If you don’t know where Massachusetts is, look in the upper right-hand corner of the United States.

I left Alaska out because it’s too big.

Mass (sometimes we call it that) is a small state.

Map of the US with a star on Massachusets

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Only six states are smaller. Even Hawaii is bigger, but it’s kind of cheating because lots of Hawaii is ocean. I have a U.S. map on my bedroom wall, and because I look at it every night before I turn out my light, I have almost memorized it.

Gloucester (people here say GLAH-stah… weird, huh?) is the oldest fishing port in America. It was founded in 1623, only three years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, which is also in Massachusetts somewhere. I have never seen Plymouth Rock, but rocks last almost forever, so I guess it’s still there.

Georgie and I live less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean, in a neighborhood of big, old houses. Not old like Pilgrims, but Granpa says our house is older than he is, and I know he is way more than seventy. (He does not celebrate his birthday, and I don’t even know when it is. He won’t tell.)

Our houses are three blocks apart if you use the streets, but Georgie and I only go that way if we’re on our bikes. There’s a scrawny little stream in a scrawny little gully that separates our backyards, and it is so narrow that last year Georgie launched a balloon filled with chocolate pudding all the way from his bedroom window over the trees and the gully into my backyard, where my sister was playing with her friends.

I told you he has terrific ideas!

Of course I was in Georgie’s bedroom at the time, but on purpose here’s what I did not do:

  1. I did not fill the balloon with pudding.
  2. I did not touch Georgie’s huge slingshot.
  3. I did not help pull back the rubber part.

I did not do any of these things so that if Mom or someone asked, I would not have to lie. I did help aim it, kind of. When the pudding bomb landed and splashed chocolate on you-know-who, the girls screamed like the universe was exploding—and even though we got yelled at, it was cool.

Georgie launching a balloon filled with chocolate pudding all the way from his bedroom window over the trees and the gully into my backyard, onto my sister's head.

I trotted through the gully on the path that Georgie and I made, then up the other side and through the won’t-close-gate into his backyard. Once inside his back door—I never have to knock—I yelled for him. He yelled back from the basement.

I walked down the stairs. They creaked and squeaked like in horror movies. (I’m not trying to scare you—it’s just one of the details I remember.)

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His house, like mine, is really old. The basement and stairs are made out of wood, and the floor is mostly dirt except for the concrete part where Mr. Sinkoff keeps his tools.

I could see a shadow moving on the basement floor, so I knew Georgie was directly beneath me, under the stairs. When I reached the bottom, Georgie stepped out and grabbed me, talking real fast.

“I found something big! Really big!”

There were cobwebs in his hair. He had one hand behind his back.

I have known Georgie my whole life. We have always been best friends… except for the time in third grade when he called me Dumbo Ears. (This is really the last time I am going to mention my ears!)

GeorgieGeorgie has reddish-brown hair, greenish-brown eyes, braces, and really cool glasses with bright red rims. He is already eleven and is almost twice my size. He is good at games where being big is an advantage, like basketball and football. My best sports are soccer and baseball because I am wicked fast and very excellent at catching flies.

I have brown hair, brown eyes, and a whitish scar on my thumb where a fishhook stabbed me when I was on a lake with my dad. I was eight and fooling around. Don’t ask.Cheesie

Georgie and I go to the same school, have always had the same teacher, and in the summer, always go to camp in Maine.

“I was down here looking for black widow spiders,” Georgie continued. “I figured if I caught one in a jar, we could use it to scare your sister. But this”—

Georgie brought his arm around and held up a yellowed envelope with one corner ripped off—”was completely hidden between those two boards.” He pointed under the stairs, but I took my eyes off the envelope for only a second. “It’s addressed to my house, but the name is”—he squinted at the envelope—”G. J. Prott.”

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“Probably there was somebody named G. J. Prott who lived here before you guys,” I said. Georgie nodded. “Look what was in the envelope!”

He held out a piece of paper folded up small, then opened it. Inside were a silvery metal heart on a silvery metal chain and one penny.

“A penny? Not exactly treasure, Georgie.”

“Yeah, but this necklace is probably real silver. And what if there’s more hidden stuff? Like gold and diamonds.”

I picked up the necklace and held it high between us. The lightbulb on the basement rafters was not very bright, but the heart sparkled as it spun slowly.

“I bet a hypnotist could use this to hypnotize people,” I said.

Georgie didn’t say anything. Maybe I’d sort of hypnotized him.

I placed the heart necklace back on the paper in Georgie’s hand and examined the coin. The back looked a lot different from any other penny I’d ever seen, but the front had the same face on it: Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president.

(Glenn Philips, the smartest kid in my class, can name all the presidents and all the vice presidents. In order!)

I looked at the date on the coin. “This penny was made in 1909.”A really old penny! (From 1909)

That snapped Georgie out of his trance. He grabbed the penny and peered at it closely. “That means it’s over a hundred years old.”

One of us said, “Whoa.”

I don’t remember who.

End of Book One Excerpt – Order Your Copy
Read from Book Two: Cheesie Mack Is Cool In A Duel
Read from Book Three: Cheesie Mack Is Running Like Crazy!
Read from Book Four: Cheesie Mack Is Not Exactly Famous
Read from Book Five: Cheesie Mack Is Sort Of Freaked Out

Excerpt copyright © 2011 by Stephen L. Cotler. Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Adam McCauley. Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

end of excerpt

Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything

is available in the following formats:

Random House

May 22, 2011

ISBN-10: 0375864377

ISBN-13: 9780375864377

Digital:

Hardcover:

Paperback:

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What People Are Saying About My Book:

Read or write reviews on Goodreads →

“Fifth-grader Ronald “Cheesie” Mack’s problems (like how to outsmart his evil older sister) may be ordinary, but in the hands of first-time author Cotler they’re plenty entertaining. Playful use of language. Many entertaining bit characters. Cotler blatantly sets readers up for Cheesie’s next adventure; after this installment, they’ll be ready for it.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Ronald “Cheesie” Mack and his best friend, Georgie, are about to graduate fifth grade and embark on the best summer ever. Readers will be happy to learn that Cotler’s debut is the first in a new series. Cheesie chattily narrates his own story; his voice rings true, and the other characters are a gently quirky, appealing lot. His periodic invitations to read posts on or add stories to the CheesieMack.com website will hook denizens of the digital generation.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Ronald, aka Cheesie, Mack is looking forward to a summer of scheming with his best friend, Georgie, terrorizing his sister June “the Goon,” and finally attending camp with Georgie as cool older campers. [T]hen Georgie finds an old letter containing a century-old penny and a locket, a mystery that eventually leads the pals to the Haunted Toad, a local rundown mansion. This is Cheesie’s story, and his easygoing, accessible voice will certainly appeal to middle-grade readers. From the plot to unleash mouse madness at the school graduation to his obsession with besting his older sister, the action here is all fun and games.”

— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Ronald Mack—better known as “Cheesie”—is an almost-11-year-old with a knack for silliness and trouble. Cheesie’s best friend, Georgie, is with him every step of the way. When the boys find a mysterious envelope, they’re in for the adventure of a lifetime. [A] rollicking read.”

— School Library Journal

Comments from my Readers & Friends

  2. Hey;).My brother and I call my big sister provolone or big cheese. do you have any other nicknames?

  4. I really like how this book seems so real. And how the author makes it really cool and stuff.

    1. I don’t really know. The publisher makes the pricing decision. But I suspect it’ll cost the same as this one.

  13. This book is totally awesome chizz.
    There is nothing bad about this book.And for the mouse plot.
    SICK AWESOME!!!

  15. I like how you think, Cheesie/ Steve Cotler. Your book is ok.. And I really like the illustrations!

    1. Jarrett (really), Olivia (totally), Ardene (excellently), and Roy (sort of)–

      Thanks for your nice comments about my book! (The words in parentheses come from your comments…HAHA!)

  17. This book is totally awesome-sauce! I found it at the library. I actually didn’t really think I’d like it but then i saw the vampire. 🙂

  20. my grandma lynda gave me your book. she lives in healdsburg. i read the whole thing. i really liked it alot.

  21. I’m a K-5 library teacher and I loved this book – will recommend it to lots of kids. Great combination of story, facts, humor, illustrations. I also really liked that Cheesie isn’t a weird, goofy boy – seems so many kids books with boy characters make the boy characters weird. Cheesie seems like a regular kid. Hope there’s a sequel.

    1. Thanks! (Even though everyone in my family—except Mom—thinks I actually am weird and goofy.) And, yes…there is a sequel. Cheesie Mack Is Cool in a Duel comes out next June!

  22. Dear Cheesie, I loved your book!!! I was kind of confused because it had a lot of things linked together, but in the end I got it all. But it was a fun book Cheesie!!

    1. If you mean the Haunted Toad, I think it would take a colossal magic spell to do that. It would be cool, though, to see a house come alive.

  27. I love your book, Cheesie! Please make more. It has inspired me to try a “Mouse Plot” someday. 🙂
    P.S: Please respond! 😛

    1. My advice is
      DO NOT TRY A MOUSE PLOT!
      As you can tell from the results Georgie and I got, it was a very bad idea.
      But thanks for the compliment about my book.

  28. THIS IS MY FEVERET BOOK AND I DOUNT LIKE READING SO THIS IS A GOOD SINE
    FIRST BOOK I REALLY LKED
    AWSOME

    1. Wow! Thanks. I am really honored that my book is the first one you really like. You’re right! It is a good sign.

  29. i don’t like reading but ur book is so interesting that i love it this is the firsted book i acually finished and loved and i realy hope u make more like this.

    p.s. i am a harible speller and reader love ur book (:

    1. To Sonya, Mandeep, Megan, JC, Kimi, and Keni–

      Thanks. I really appreciate your comments. It makes me so happy, I am standing up…
      spinning around…
      shouting YIPPEE…
      and sitting back down at my computer.

  35. I love your book.I meen it is terrific or should I say it was carnival. O I forgot I’m 10. Georgie almost looks like me except for the hair and braclet. I love the illustartions and the story. I hope you make Cheesie Mack number 2.Keep on the good teamwork STEVE COTLER and ADAM McCAULEY. Bye

  37. When I first saw the book I thought I would hate it :p . When I had nothing to read but cheesie mack I started reading it I LOVED it !!!!!! 🙂 Steve cotler came to my school ( BTW it is loma verde ) and signed my copy of cheesie mack !!! 🙂 BTW the way to spell my name is jaycee.

  38. I love this book! I got it on monday and finished it tuesday, because it was so interesting. I couldn’t put it down.

    1. By the way, I am writing a book for girls ages ten to twelve. I already have forty- three pages written and lots more to go. I want to try to get it published, but I don’t know any editors to send it to. Do you have any ideas?

    2. See my response to Star below. Finish the book. That’s most important…and hard to do. Then comes trying to get it published.

  39. I love the book cheesie mack but I not done with the whole thing only hafe of it but so far it”s good.I never read a book that had a chapter 0 in it ,but I don’t think it’s wrong it’s creative.I have one question how many days did it take you to write this book? I am going to write a book for little kids like for 1-5 year old book that barly have any words in them. Then I will send it to a editer and wait for the moeny to come in. any way i just wanted to say thst cheesie mack was a great book. keep up the good workn who ever wrote this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Thanks for your comment. It’s fun to write a book, isn’t it? This one took me a long time…weeks and weeks. The hard part is making it interesting to the reader. That’s where revising and rewriting comes in. It’s sometimes boring to start over and re-do stuff, but it’s absolutely necessary!

  40. I wrote a book “Jinga, Morgan, and Me”. How do I get someone to publish it?

    1. Great title. It is VERY HARD to get your book published. You have to rewrite, revise, and edit it until you think it is perfect (I did my book over and over eight times!). Then you have to send it to publishers…and most of them will reject it. (Some won’t even respond.)

      I was very lucky.

      And my Aunt Brenda helped a little by making sure somebody in the publishing company actually read what I sent in.
      http://cheesiemack.com/family-tree/#brenda

    1. Thanks! Hilarious is one of my favorite words. Sometimes I abbreviate and just say hilario.

  42. Hi Cheesie! I have a question. I want to be a few things when I grow up… Which One should I be??? (Pick A, B, C, or D.)
    A. Actress
    B.Writer/author/illistrator<(is that spelled right?)
    C. A Fashion Model
    D.Try my best to do them all.
    (P.S. Please Reply Back)

  44. hey Chessie ,remember me Jake? I cant wait until your next book . Have a nice summer . Tell Georgie I said Hi

  45. My teacher Ms.Magnant read this book to us in the last few months of our fifth grade school year. I love this book and I want to read it again because it was funny, creative, and different than other books!

    1. Thanks to Hannah, Aiden, and Juliana for your nice comments. They really make me feel terrific! Have a great summer.

  48. best book I’ve read in 2011. You make a really good children’s book. I want more of your books!!!!!

    1. Thanks, Jonathan, Abi, and Sebin.
      It’s great to hear from kids who like my book!

    1. I was just looking back through comments from two years ago…and I want to say, THANKS, Abi!

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