When Omri's family moves to the country house his mother has inherited, he learns the earlier history of the magical cupboard first featured in The Indian in the Cupboard (1980). The house belonged to distant cousin Frederick; in its thatched roof, Omri discovers a manuscript dictated by Frederick's mother, Jessica Charlotte, on her deathbed. A tragedy is revealed: jealous of her sister Maria (Omri's great-great-grandmother), Jessica Charlotte- -music-hall singer, unwed mother, and family outcast—stole a pair of her earrings, unwittingly setting off events that left Maria widowed and impoverished. The cupboard was Jessica Charlotte's; now, when Omri finds her toy figures, he uses it to bring them to life, hoping to avert the tragedy by sending them back to her time—belatedly realizing that this may cancel his own existence. Though the story begins slowly, Banks plots expertly, introducing new figures, bringing in old ones for cameo appearances, and even furthering Omri's nice relationship with his dad. There's not much chance to stereotype Native Americans here, as Banks was charged with earlier, but Jessica Charlotte is certainly a caricature of a music-hall singer; one wonders whether it's reasonable, or merely foolish, to deplore such shorthand in popular fiction. Not the best ``Cupboard'' book, but fans won't want to miss it; with a first printing of 75,000, they won't have to. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-12138-1
Page Count: 246
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
IN THE NEWS
Year-round fun.
Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”
This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”
Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Paulsen paid loving tribute to the sled dogs in his life in Puppies, Dogs and Blue Northers (1996) so gives eight more canine companions equal time: Snowball, who saved his life when he was seven, to Caesar, an enthusiastic Great Dane who "overwhelmed the furniture" but was gentle with children, to Fred, who did battle with an electric fence, to Quincy, who did battle with a bear that attacked the author's wife. Thoughtful, ironic, often hilarious, these vivid character portraits not only make winning stories, but convey a deep respect for all dogs: "They are wonderful and, I think, mandatory for decent human life." (Memoir. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-385-32570-3
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1997
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