There’s something strange happening with the third grade at W.T. Melon Elementary School. Rumor has it that the school’s founder is still alive, lives just above the classroom and makes things . . . different. By all accounts, this seems to be true. Paul, who speaks out of turn, comes down with mouth moths—invisible creatures that fly from his mouth unless he raises his hand to speak. Kimberly, who cuts in line, mysteriously finds herself always last. Zachary learns that the reason he can’t stay seated is actually because his chair is in need of taming. Hannah has trouble keeping her hands to herself until she finds that everyone she touches freezes. Loren comes to understand the value of tests when she becomes a test tester (with help from the class pet). And Matthew realizes the value of subtraction when his substitute, Subdude, makes it disappear entirely. Full of wordplay and accompanied by comical drawings, each stand-alone story in this collection contains a lesson about behavior that is never pedantic and always replete with warmth and humor. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-932425-23-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2006
Every 50 years the Druids send a spy from the underground civilization of Hek to investigate the Extros, or humans, living on the surface. This time the spy is a young girl named Varloo who has five days to find out as much information as she can about the Extros and report back to the elders. Varloo immediately runs into trouble on the surface, losing the sacred cat, Osi, and knocking herself unconscious. Luckily she is found by Dougie Minners, who takes her back to his tree house and feeds her lasagna and Oreo’s until she tells him her story. Dougie tells Varloo of a plan for a housing development that will threaten the existence of Hek and together this unlikely pair must find a way to save the underground civilization. Varloo and Dougie learn that even though their lives and customs are very different, they can appreciate each other for their uniqueness. Detailed descriptions of the diet (mushroom cakes and turnip wafers) and the fuel source (bat guano) of the imaginary civilization give the narrative a lively spark, but at times things become confusing as Freeman introduces new characters and concepts with unfamiliar names. Still, these minor flaws don’t detract from this fun story that will enchant young readers with its witty dialogue and creativity. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: July 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029269-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From Frettnin Forest, Beastshire, the orthographically challenged correspondent introduced in Little Wolf’s Book of Badness (1999) again reports nefarious doings and silly misadventures to his unsympathetic parents. A number of local baby animals having gone missing, along with some from a visiting circus, and Little Wolf and his associates at the newly formed Yelloweyes Forest Detective Agency take up their mail-order sleuth kits and spring into action. As usual, it all turns out to be the doing of Mr. Twister the fox, who with a homemade gene-modifying machine is recombining his captives into such useful new creatures as cat/spiders to guard his digs, a vegetarian lamb/lion, and a succulent hyena/mouse that can’t hide no matter how tall the grass. A Gen-Next e-mailer in the making, Little Wolf adorns his letters and blot-marred handwritten postscripts with creative spelling and made up words—“But do not fret and frown, we will solve this case soonly, easy cheesy. (Probly.)”—to which Ross adds plenty of sketchy cartoon portraits and vignettes. Once Mr. Twister has been sent packing (to return, no doubt, in future episodes), Little Wolf, his friends, and even obnoxious little brother Smellybreff throw over detective work to join the circus. Readers unfamiliar with this import’s first three installments may trip over a few continuing plot threads, but there’s plenty of noodleheaded humor, plus healthy doses of deduction and derring-do, to keep the howls coming. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57505-413-2
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
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