MONKEY SHINES

A sudden change from writing mysteries (under a pen name) and vivid Civil War history (The General Who Marched to Hell -- 1951) to a realistic and humorous juvenile about a Little League ball team, hastn't seemed to bother Mr. Miers. In the small town of Northfield, Sleepy Jones and his friends, Turkey, Lover, Poke and the rest, mobilize quickly at the thought of competing in the Little League. Spiked by Sleepy, dreams (to the extent of getting a famous ex-outfielder as their coach- the sponsorship of Northfield's merchants- and a few hard won victories over rivals from nearby towns) come true. But well being and awards aren't without some sweet bitterness. The coach has a questionable past; a prankster mascot monkey makes a laughing stock of Northfield; Sleepy has to overcome a terrific sense of athletic incompetnacy; the term has to learn cooperation- the hard way. Definitely a needed kind of book for those boys like Sleepy who dream of roses or thrush songs in the same breath as a well caught fly, or to get thoroughly down in the dumps for having forgotten to clean their bedrooms. Paul Galdone's drawings are sophisticated comments on the boys and their doings.