THE CARDIFF GIANTS

Mr. Summer's last title, Tiger Torwilliger (1963, 874, J-288) was a ""wildly original"" book with a cast of highly individualized, comic, teenage characters. One aspect of his latest book comes as a disappointment: he has lifted characters from Tiger and done nothing more than change their names. For example, Dalton Andrews and Thelma Clark are more than convincing doubles for Loren, the bashful lad, and Vada Long, and Miss Masterson the tough English teacher, is a shadow of Tiger herself. The story of the giants, Thelma's cousins, Beauregard and Breckinridge Clark from Cardiff, Texas, viewed by the gang as great possibilities for the high football team, is boisterously funny and fast moving. The gang's combined attempts to educate the athletic, but thick headed, Texan via tape recorder while they sleep, are successful, but they're lost to the team when the giants suddenly up and leave for Texas. However, through their summer struggles with history, math, and English, the whole team is eligible, despite Caledelphia High's accelerated academic program. We said ""Ha Ha"" to Tiger T., and we'll echo that for an echo book.