Cardboard

TenNapel, Doug. Cardboard. 2012. 288p. ISBN 978-0-545-41873-7.

Cam lost his mother a few years ago, and ever since it's been him and his father. Mike is a carpenter by trade, but work is hard to come by, and Mike is barely able to keep him and his son fed. Today is Cam's birthday, and Mike can't even afford a present. Then he runs into a strange stand on the side of the road, and he decides to take a look. The salesman offers him the most unique item ever, a cardboard box. There are two rules. Mike must bring back any scrap, and he can't have more. Priced at 78 cents, the box costs the exact change that is in Mike's pocket.

Back at home, Cam is watching Marcus and his friend Pink Eye race their remote-controlled cars. Marcus' parents are wealthy and he has no trouble getting anything he wants. He mocks Cam when Mike comes back with a cardboard box. Cam and Mike ignore him, and soon they decide to build a cardboard boxer. During the night the cardboard becomes alive, and Bill joins their family. Marcus is jealous, and he and Pink Eye use water guns to try to hurt Bill. The cardboard melts, and Cam is crestfallen as Bill slowly drifts towards death. In desperation, Mike builds a cardboard maker with the remaining scraps, and soon he's producing new cardboard and he saves Bill's life.

Marcus is jealous of Cam and his cardboard friend, and he steals the cardboard maker. Soon, he's making himself an army of cardboard monsters, but quickly realize that they have a mind of their own. As their cardboard empire begins to grow, it will be up to Mike, Cam, and Bill to save the world!