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THE FAMOUS STANLEY KIDNAPPING CASE

Name: THE FAMOUS STANLEY KIDNAPPING CASE
Author: Zilpha Keatley Snyder
ISBN: 0440424852

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 1979

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The Stanley family we all remember from Snyder's highly successful The Headless Cupid (1971) gets a year in Italy when stepmother Molly's expatriate uncle leaves her money that has to be spent there. Molly's 13-year-old daughter Amanda, just a little better adjusted to the new family arrangement than she was in her poltergeist days, continues to brag about her rich father; and as a result all five children are kidnapped though the culprits had only bargained for Amanda. She is despondent, sure that her father won't bother to rescue her, and the others are fearful that he won't be able to come up with the million-dollar ransom. When they hear that he is in Italy but can't raise the million, David, the oldest Stanley, is really worried, but Amanda, with this evidence of her father's concern, comes to life. Much of the story takes place in the kids' basement prison, where seven-year-old, bilingual Janle (the family genius) interprets for the masked kidnappers, guesses their identity, and—with a view to being so cute their captors can't possibly kill them—gets up a hilarious performance with herself acting out Juliet's death scene and the four-year-old twins following with the Mickey Mouse Club song. For their part David and Amanda stage a miracle, which does have the kidnappers wondering; but in the end it's Janie who saves them all. A lively, likable family adventure, a bit slow to hit its stride and not as ingenious as The Headless Cupid, but still crackling with the Stanley family's distinctive charm and energy.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1979

ISBN: 0440424852

Page Count: 228

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
WILLIAM'S MIDSUMMER DREAMS
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

- BOOK REVIEW
WILLIAM S. AND THE GREAT ESCAPE
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BRONZE PEN
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

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TOO MUCH GLUE

by Jason Lefebvre ; illustrated by Zac Retz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

Great gobs of glue should be more fun than this. (Picture book. 4-7)

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Can there be too much glue? Matty’s about to find out.

Matty’s art teacher warns him that too much glue will never dry, but Matty (and his dad) loves glue; they play with it constantly. So Matty finds the “fullest” bottle in the art room and squirts it all over his project. Then he flops down in the middle of the mess…and gets stuck. He’s “a blucky stucky mess!” His friends try to lasso him with yarn and haul him out, but the yarn breaks and gets stuck; now, he’s “a clingy stringy, blucky stucky mess.” A Lego tow truck snaps apart in another rescue attempt, making him a “click-brick, clingy stringy, blucky stucky mess!” When the bell rings, the glue’s dry, and dad must peel gluey Matty off the table. At home, he’s divested of his glue suit, and Dad puts a magnet on it and sticks it to the fridge. After dinner, the family explores the fun of duct tape. Despite the busy plot and superabundance of exclamation marks, Lefebvre’s debut never rises to the level of mayhem or fun it aspires to. The cumulative portion of the tale loses rhyme, rhythm and logic six pages before it ends. Retz’s Photoshop paintings are bright, wide-eyed and goofy, but they can’t add enough fun to compensate for the lackluster text.

Great gobs of glue should be more fun than this. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-9362612-7-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Flashlight Press

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PIPPI IN THE SOUTH SEAS

translated by Gerry Bothmer & illustrated by Louis S. Glanzman & by Astrid Lindgren ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 1959

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Pippi, a carrot-haired Swedish girl, once again embarks on a series of pranks, capers, and mischief which add up to one grand adventure for her and her two companions. In this episode, a sequel to Pippi Longstocking, Pippi Goes on Board, Pippi, Tommy and Annika take off on a boat on which Pippi's father is captain and sail to an island on which he is King. Throughout the expedition Pippi manifests her tremendous capacity for humor, imagination, and extraordinary physical strength in a manner which will delight those readers already familiar with her and win for her many ardent new friends.