SHOEBAG RETURNS

Lacking the freshness and surprise of its predecessor (Shoebag, 1990), this tale will still entertain the many fans of the cockroach who can turn into a boy. Shoebag is now living in the exclusive Miss Rattray's School for Girls, which has recently enrolled its first boy, Stanley Sweetsong. Stanley and his troubled new friend, Josephine, known as the Doll Smasher for the little drama she continually reenacts in her room, are unhappy at being excluded from the club of snobby girls known as The Betters. With Shoebag's help they start their own secret club, The Butters, and pull off a major prank on Career Day. With the same bizarre humor, off-kilter perspective, absurdities, and serious (but not preachy) message, this is a worthwhile sequel, although it is less Shoebag's story than Stanley and Josephine's. (Fiction. 8-12)