In the late-19th century, Lucretia Hale’s hilarious Peterkin Papers followed the misadventures of a family who were the ancestors of The Stupids and Amelia Bedelia. Spurr and Halperin have already adapted The Peterkins’ Christmas (2004)—their light touch and whimsical illustrations are just what are needed to bring this holiday into the realm of the silly. Thanksgiving dinner gets stuck in the dumbwaiter; Amanda the cook can move it neither up nor down. The family (parents, Agamemnon, Solomon John, Elizabeth Eliza and the three Little Boys) troops down to the kitchen, but that doesn’t help. Pickaxes are mentioned. So is tea, but no one wants to spoil their appetites. Finally, the carpenter comes, after his own dinner, and rearranges the weight, which is just what is needed. The hapless Peterkins will have children screaming with laughter—and telling them what to do—while they absorb a certain amount of information about how dumbwaiters work and what it is like to have the kitchen downstairs and dinner served to you. The Lady from Philadelphia, who usually unties the Peterkins’ Gordian knots, is offstage here, the recipient of Elizabeth Eliza’s missives. (Picture book. 6-9)
