Lucky Hart, ten, lives in the fictional 19th-century town of Cobtown, a village peopled with colorful characters. The story, told through Lucky’s diary, tells the tale of the day the Adapulgus, a horrifying, bloodthirsty monster came to town. Captain Ragg, a slick con man, and his sidekick Short Tooth announce to the town that they have captured a fearsome beast that they will display to the town for the small fee of 25 cents per person in a tent erected for just that very purpose. The excitement in Cobtown builds all day until most of the townspeople, some considerably nervous, are sitting inside the tent listening to frightening noises emanating from behind the curtain. Just as Captain Ragg is about to introduce the beast, a commotion occurs backstage and Captain Ragg, feigning panic, tells the crowd that the beast has disappeared and is on the loose and urges everyone to run for their lives. The people flee in terror and Lucky takes refuge in her friend Fliberty Jibbert’s shed. Unfortunately for Captain Ragg and Short Tooth, the two swindlers also decide to hide out at Fliberty’s, where Lucky overhears the two crooks gloating about how they’ve fleeced the townsfolk. But ever resourceful and creative, Fliberty has a plan of his own—he performs his famous hand shadows, creates a terrifying shadow monster on the wall, and scares the bejeezus out of the two rapscallions. Thinking the monster is real, Ragg and Short Tooth flee in fright, leaving behind the bag of coins they’ve cheated from the gullible townspeople. The title page and the last page with the hand shadows on it are the most visually interesting and attractive pages, more interesting than the rest of the illustrations, which are overly slick and clearly owe a great deal to Disney animation. Lengthy text makes this a fun story that works as a read-aloud for younger children and which older children will enjoy reading themselves. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-32565-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A mystery, a school story, sibling rivalry and the loss of a pet blend surprisingly well in this engaging chapter book. Charmingly awkward fifth grader Edgar Allan decides to solve a series of minor thefts that are plaguing his teacher, Ms. Herschel. Clues are plentiful—and rhymed—but the competition to solve them is fierce. Edgar’s nemesis, Patrick Chen, seems to have the inside track since his dad works in forensics. Edgar, however, finds that the friends he makes along the way provide the winning edge. Including transcripts of Edgar’s ingenuous interviews as well as poems written by a number of class members in her narrative, Amato provides a clear picture of both social and family dynamics while keeping the story moving smoothly along. The author’s characteristic humor is somewhat muted, but examples of amusing wordplay abound. Some readers may guess the identity of the culprit more quickly than Edgar and his friends do, but whodunit is not really the point. Solving puzzles, making friends and learning to see the world more clearly are the true aims of this adventure. (Mystery. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2271-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
All the ingredients are there, but something went wrong in the cooking process.
Three girls stumble upon a group of lady spies and convince them to let them join their group.
In this series opener, Peggy, Rita, and Dot are frustrated spies without a case. One dark and stormy night, they are bored and decide to venture out of their clubhouse when they see a mysterious figure walking the streets in the middle of the night. (Why these seemingly parentless children find that peculiar when they themselves are also up way past bedtime is anyone’s guess.) It turns out to be Miss Khan, their teacher, who invites them inside for hot chocolate but is twitchy when Dot opens a door and sees a group of women gathering secretly. The next morning Rita sees a woman in the newspaper she recognizes from Miss Khan’s, and they rush back to the teacher’s home. That woman? Josephine Baker, the famed dancer suspected of being a spy. The girls confront the women and express their desire to be sleuths and spies as well, and Josephine conveniently has a mystery for them to solve: Her pet cheetah has been kidnapped. The girls eagerly take on the job. Delightful pencil illustrations with spots of bright yellow appear on every spread, but they can’t save this poorly paced story. All the lady spies are based on real people (even the cheetah!), though they were not contemporaries, as the brief bios in the backmatter attest. The attempted noir tone feels ungrounded because of its slippery connection to time and world history. Rita presents Black and Peggy White; Dot appears to be a girl of color.
All the ingredients are there, but something went wrong in the cooking process. (author's note, guide to Morse code) (Mystery. 6-10)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20435-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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