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Willie,
Lucy and Kyle have set up the headquarters for their detective
agency in Kyle’s attic. They have disguises at Lucy’s house,
food at Willie’s and a talking mascot, Scarface the parrot. They
are ready to solve their first case, but the problem is — there is
no case to solve.
As
they start searching the neighborhood for disappearances or
robberies, they notice that mean, rotten Chuckie, the neighborhood
bully, starts acting strange. He’s polite instead of mean, and
Scarface has also had a change in behavior.
The
children decide that both Chuckie and Scarface have been abducted
and brainwashed by aliens. They now have a case to solve and begin
by spying on Chuckie and interviewing him to gain information. One
of the children even disguises himself as an alien to see how it
affects Chuckie.
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After
several letters to a detective magazine, "Alert!" and a
trip to the vet with Scarface, they do solve the case. It turns out
that both Chuckie and Scarface suffer from the same ailment — they’re
in love.
Barbara
Joosse’s book is fast-moving, filled with humor and contains just
enough mystery to satisfy the young reader. Sue Truesdell’s many
pen-and-ink cartoon illustrations complement the text.
Boys
and girls who are fans of David Adler’s "Cam Jansen"
books will enjoy this adventure and come back for more.
[Review
by Pat Schlough, Lincoln Public Library]
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"It
was the hottest day of the year. Only the ghost was out in the sun,
only the ghost and his dog…He was a thin boy, white as chalk, a
plaster boy dressed in baggy clothes."
The
storyteller immediately draws the reader into the life of Harold
Kline, an albino, and never lets go. The other children tease him
and call him names like "Maggot" or "Whitey" as
he tries to pretend he’s invisible. Every reader who has ever felt
different or misunderstood will immediately bond with Harold.
When
the circus comes to town, he puts all his belongings in a pillowcase
and makes the decision to join the performers. Lawrence has created
a well-developed, fascinating cast of characters who are involved in
the circus. Harold will travel with them from Liberty to Oregon, a
trip of several weeks. Princess Minikin, the Fossil Man, Gypsy Magda,
Cannibal King (who’s also albino) and Flip will help Harold in
their own ways, and he will see that life is not always what it
seems.
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These
"freaks" of the circus accept Harold as if he were one of
the family, and he learns to accept others for who they are rather
than what they look like. Along the way,
Harold
manages to accomplish a seemingly impossible task — teaching the
elephants to play baseball.
As
Harold’s stay with the circus comes to an end, he realizes who his
true friends have been and, like Dorothy from Kansas, that
"there’s no place like home."
Iain
Lawrence is the author of two award-winning books for young people:
"The Wreckers" and "The Smugglers."
[Review
by Pat Schlough, Lincoln Public Library]
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