THE PRACTICAL JOKE WAR

The author of Cricket and the Crackerbox Kid (1990) weighs in with another unusually original story. When their parents let them stay at home alone during the summer, Eddy (9), Taffy (11), and Russell (12) become involved in an escalating series of pranks, shifting alliances, and misunderstandings that are barely slowed even after their parents ground them. Taffy—from whose point of view the story is told— is especially interested in getting back at Russell because of his remarks about her new best friend, Susan. But when Taffy's cat is endangered by the practical jokes, all three siblings are united in the cat's behalf, while Taffy herself faces some hard facts about her own behavior—and Susan's. Although the writing is utilitarian, and adult characters are barely sketched, Ferguson has the realities of everyday suburban life and sibling warfare to a tee. Funny, believable entertainment. (Fiction. 8-12)