Kirkus Reviews QR Code
SHACK AND BACK by Michael Crowley

SHACK AND BACK

by Michael Crowley & illustrated by Abby Carter

Pub Date: April 1st, 1993
ISBN: 0-316-16231-0
Publisher: Little, Brown

The crew that made friends with The New Kid on Spurwink Ave. (1992) is back with another story exploring the gap between supposition and reality. This time, after Crater makes a tactless remark about ``sissy-girls,'' the gang splits up. But when the Broad Cove Bullies accost the three boys, tease them about their association with the four girls, and challenge them to a race (``your gang's fastest rider against ours...Losers wash winners' bikes''), truth strikes: only T-Ball has a chance of winning, and she's still miffed. Still, her own loyalty and the boys' belated diplomacy help her come around in time to win. The kids are amusingly characterized in Carter's energetic, freely rendered watercolors; their lively dialogue is the book's strongest suit. Fine for reading aloud or alone, a story that's entertaining enough to carry its rather obvious message. (Picture book. 5-8)