THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD

by Don Robertson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 17, 1965

Morris Bird the III is a nine-year-old who can cope ...with his name- ""he thought of himself as Morris Bird the Three"" or ""Morris Bird the Eye Eye Eye;"" his little ""When in doubt bawl"" sister and with the eternals: ""so someday he would die. So Big Fat Deal."" He also knows a lot-of ""Items""...""People who had double boxes of Crayola crayons put on the dog...Errol Flynn's indictment for statutory rape did not mean he had raped statues...the worst thing you could meet up with was guilt."" But Morris can't cope with guilt; he has been wretchedly guilty several times. This problem plus a lot of inadvertent energizers...speeches from grownups about bravery, virtue and SELF RESPECT finally set Morris off on an incredible odyssey. He plays hookey from school and starts on a long Journey to his best friend's house in an unknown part of the city. He is secure in the knowledge that this will be an achievement and he will earn his SELF RESPECT. But the readerknows that Morris is walking into the heart of one of Cleveland Ohio's worst disasters... the 1941 gas tank explosions. Basing his novel on a true incident Mr. Robertson (A Flag Full of Stars 1964. p. 561) again uses sharp vignettes and character sketches to set the scene. He also doubleguns the shock value of the holocaust. But the situation is affecting as Morris copes- with bleed, burns, the badly injured and the loss of the seat of his pants and emerges one of the greatest little protagonists since buttered bagels.

Pub Date: June 17, 1965

ISBN: 0061452963

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1965

Categories: FICTION