HARRY AND ARNEY

Irrepressible first-grader Harry Kane takes center stage again (Hurricane Harry, 1991) in the fourth book about a suburban family, almost atypical in their normalcy. Everyone must adjust to new baby Arney, fourth of the Kane children and crying all the time. Happy as he is to have a brother, Harry must give up a good chunk of attention right from the start as Arney's birth coincides with his own trip to the emergency room for stitches. But caring grandparents, loving if harried parents, and understanding older sisters come through, and when eldest Chloe helps Harry through a difficult situation at school, he decides there's really no need for a B.O.N.G. (Boys Only No Girls) club after all. In this humorous, very real depiction of family life, Caseley skillfully weaves plays on words, as well as science, history, and math information into the story to give it substance along with the fun. Fans of Joanna Hurwitz will take to the Kanes at once and look for more stories about them. (Fiction. 6-8)