THAT SUMMER ON CATALPA STREET

This is a book truly written for children not just about them. It tells of a summer of ingenious fun shared by a group of assorted scalawags from the first lucky day nine-year-old Amy swallowed her fears and befriended the newly arrived Prince children with their pleasing conglomeration of personalities: sensible Martha, the rollicking twins, Tad and Eddle, and mirthful little Midget- to the end of a most active summer. One of their first projects as a group was to devise a complicated communications system from tin cans and rope. When the phantom strikes and the rope is cut, suspicion falls on troublesome Marty. How the children involve Marty in their gang and unconsciously channel his destructive impulses into carefree adventure including a harrowing woodsy treasure hunt make for a story of thrills within the realm of average possibility and impress us with the warm, genuine effects of group spirit on the character evolution of the meanest boy in town. Do write more Louise Pliss!