JUST-IN-TIME JOEY

by Leonard Shortall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 1973

While watching workmen near his grandmother's house cut down trees that have been marked with yellow paint to show that they have Dutch elm disease, Joey meets a rude neighbor kid named Billy who is gleeful about the destruction and burning of the trees and who sprays yellow paint on Joey's shirt. Thus next morning when the men are about to cut down an especially large tree Joey knows to be healthy, he is able to save the tree by telling them that the new yellow spot they found on it was put there by Billy. Shortall's flat, easy-reader style (""Joey saw the yellow spot and felt sad that the big tree was coming down"") and flabby narrative structure, with the events plopped down one after another and connected only by phrases like ""after lunch"" or ""next morning,"" make it hard to get interested in Joey's rescue project even if you share Shortall's satisfaction in exposing the villain.

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1973

Categories: CHILDREN'S