Lighten Up
Staff -- School Library Journal, 5/1/1996
Revisiting SLJ's Best Books This month, SLJ's "Curriculum Connectors" highlights humor. So, dust off your old copies or spruce up your shelves with some new ones, and get ready for booktalking or introducing summer reading club members to some thoroughly enjoyable titles.
ALEXANDER, Lloyd. The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen. Dutton. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-525-44826-8.
Gr 5-10 -- An idealistic young prince embarks on a quest fraught with hardship, misadventure, and danger. This well-wrought fantasy is packed with action, emotion, and wit. (Dec. 1991)
AVI. "Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?" (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05457-8; PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08607-0.Gr 4-6 -- It's 1945, and when Frankie isn't re-enacting his favorite radio dramas, he's spying on a "mad scientist" who has rented a room in his parents' house. Touching, funny, and totally original, the story is told completely through dialogue and excerpts from old programs. (Oct. 1992)
BAUER, Joan. Squashed. Delacorte. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-385-30793-4.
Gr 6-9 -- A laugh-out-loud novel about an overweight, nonconformist teen; her giant pumpkin, Max; and her efforts to keep Max safe from thieves until the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-in. Smash-ing. (Sept. 1992)
BAWDEN, Nina. The Real Plato Jones. Clarion. Tr $13.95. ISBN 0-395-66972-3.
Gr 6-9 -- Plato unravels the mystery that connects his Welsh grandfather, a famous World War II spy, to his Greek grandfather, a traitor. Introspective, but buoyed by the boy's deadpan sense of humor, his wildly diverse relatives, and their deep ties to the past. (Nov. 1993)
BYARS, Betsy. Bingo Brown and the Language of Love. Viking. Tr $12.95. ISBN 0-670-82791-6.
Gr 5-8 -- Bingo gropes and stumbles toward maturity (and talking to girls) in this hilarious picture of his 12th summer. Genuine concerns about responsibility, commitments, and accepting change are cloaked in humor, related with flair and a breezy style. (July 1989)
BYARS, Betsy. WantedMud Blossom. illus. by Jacqueline Rogers. Delacorte. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-385-30428-5.
Gr 4-8 -- Mystery's afoot for the Blossom family as their friend Mad Mary comes up missing and their beloved dog is accused of murdering the school hamster. A rip-roaring good read. (July 1991)
COLE, Brock. Celine. Farrar. Tr $15. ISBN 0-374-31234-6.
Gr 6 Up -- A dark comedy about a quirky teenage artist (with a 26-year-old stepmother), whose quest for maturity leads her in and out of life's ups and downs. Cole's prose is distinct, offering dazzling scope and context to Celine's flip, worldly wise narrative. (Nov. 1989)
COOPER, Susan. The Boggart. McElderry. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-689-50576-0.
Gr 4-7 -- A wily Scottish boggart arrives in present-day Canada and wreaks havoc when he combines ancient magic with modern technology. It's a funny, often scary story that features two children who come up with an ingenious way to transport the creature back home. Suspenseful, imaginative, and enchanting. (Jan. 1993)
CROSS, Gillian. The Great American Elephant Chase. Holiday. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8234-1016-1.
Gr 4-6 -- A wild romp from Pittsburgh to Nebraska in 1881, as an orphan boy and a con man's daughter try to keep her elephant hidden from a thieving scoundrel. Comic adventure at its best. (May 1993)
DERBY, Pat. Grams, Her Boyfriend, My Family, and Me. Farrar. Tr $16. ISBN 0-374-38131-3.
Gr 6-10 -- The crazy antics of a family gone loco when a grandmother decides to marry; her son and finance's daughter disapprove. Wild situations result in an upbeat ending as her grandchildren take matters into their own hands and help Grams elope. (Nov. 1994)
HARTLING, Peter. Old John. tr. from German by Elizabeth D. Crawford. Lothrop. Tr $11.95. ISBN 0-688-08734-5.
Gr 3-6 -- An eccentric but lovable grandfather moves in with, disrupts, and ultimately wins over his entire family in this funny, spirited look at the rewards of intergenerational sharing. John may be old, but he certainly won't be forgotten. (July 1990)
JAMES, Mary. Shoebag. Scholastic. Tr $12.95. ISBN 0-590-43029-7.
Gr 4-6 -- A young cockroach feels only revulsion when he is transmuted into a boy, even though he realizes that being human has some advantages. An amusing, wry family story with insight into the insect condition. (June 1990)
KING-SMITH, Dick. Ace: The Very Important Pig. illus. by Lynette Hemmant. Crown. Tr $13. ISBN 0-517-57832-8; PLB $13.99. ISBN 0-517-57833-6.
Gr 3-5 -- An intelligent, lovable pig, aided by a clever house cat and hindered by a haughty corgi, becomes a VIP when he achieves nationwide fame but remains content with his simple pleasures. A lightly satirical fantasy that pokes fun at human pretensions and makes no bones about calling a spade a shovel. It's sure to be an instant success. (Nov. 1990)
KING-SMITH, Dick. Martin's Mice. illus. by Jez Alborough. Crown. Tr $13. ISBN 0-517-57113-7.
Gr 2-5 -- An engaging, wise fantasy. A well-meaning cat loves mice, and captures one as a pet. Only when Martin becomes a pet himself does he understand about the nature of freedom and friendship. Sparkling characterizations and laugh-out-loud dialogue add levity to a book filled with depth and emotion. (Jan. 1989)
LOWRY, Lois. Attaboy, Sam! illus. by Diane deGroat. Houghton. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-395-61588-7.
Gr 4-6 -- The inimitable Sam Krupnik gives his all to creating a perfume for his mother by combining all of her favorite smellswith some explosive results for the family. Upbeat and funny, with surefire child appeal. (May, 1992)
MARSHALL, James. Rats on the Roof: And Other Stories. illus. by author. Dial. Tr $13. ISBN 0-8037-0834-3; PLB $12.89. ISBN 0-8037-0835-1.
Gr 2-4 -- Seven amusing stories about anthropomorphic animals, ranging from a cultured cat with an unlikely rat phobia to a swan that becomes a sitting duck, perfectly paired with droll drawings. Fabulous fare for beginning readers. (July 1991)
MAHY, Margaret. The Good Fortunes Gang. illus. by Marian Young. Delacorte. Tr $13.95. ISBN 0-385-31015-3.
Gr 3-4 -- Moving from Australia to his father's native New Zealand seems like a disaster to Pete Fortune, especially when he meets his hostile cousins. A rivalrous, riotous adventure. (June 1993)
NAYLOR, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice in Rapture, Sort Of. Atheneum. RTE $13.95. ISBN 0-689-31466-3.
Gr 5-8 -- Motherless Alice treads the deep waters of first romance with gleeful abandon in this comic look at the pangs of momentous "firsts"from kissing to facing junior high. The breathless narrative is perfectly in tune with preteen concerns. (Apr. 1989)
NAYLOR, Phyllis Reynolds. Reluctantly Alice. Atheneum. RTE $13.95. ISBN 0-689-31681-X.
Gr 5-8 -- A hesitant Alice enters seventh grade determined to be liked by everyone and, in the process, learns about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Upbeat and funny, all the while capturing the very real concerns of preadolescents. (Mar. 1991)
PATRON, Susan. Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe. illus. by Dorothy Donahue. (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-531-05482-9; PLB $14.99. ISBN 0-531-08632-1.
Gr 2-4 -- PK's older sister may be Gifted, but this imaginative almost nine-year-old has some extraordinary talents of her own. Her storytelling abilities stand in good stead as the family moves to a new apartment, and her artistic touches make the place her own. No maybes -- a best. (Mar. 1993)
PECK, Richard. Bel-Air Bambi and the Mall Rats. Delacorte. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-385-30823-X.
Gr 5-8 -- It's Hollywood vs. small-town America in this zany battle of the barbs. Bambi, Buffie, and Brick Babcock get together with their show-biz parents to bring the town of Hickory Fork back from the brink of disaster and rescue it from a band of teenaged marauders who have taken over the mall. (Sept. 1993)
PLUMMER, Louise. My Name Is Susan Smith. The 5 Is Silent. Dell. pap. $3.50. ISBN 0-440-21451-3.
Gr 7 Up -- A gifted but unworldly 17-year-old with an artistic vision that disturbs her family abandons the security of her Utah home to pursue her career in Boston. A revealing novel of self-discovery, written with acuity and a sense of humor. (June 1991)
RODOWSKY, Colby. Sydney, Herself. Farrar. Tr $12.95. ISBN 0-374-30649-4.
Gr 7-12 -- Sydney works on her writing skills and on understanding her mother in a story that focuses on the conflict between dreams and reality. Peripheral characters leap to life in this astute, witty look at the life of a contemporary teen. (July 1989)
SCIESZKA, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. illus. by Lane Smith. Viking. RTE $11.99. ISBN 0-670-83622-2.
Gr 3-5 -- Transported to the Middle Ages, three friends save themselves from a dragon and a giant through quick thinking. The tongue-in-cheek narrative makes for laugh-out-loud enjoyment, and the easy-to-read sentences and zany dialogue perfectly suit the breathless pace. (Aug. 1991)
SCIESZKA, Jon. Your Mother Was a Neanderthal. illus. by Lane Smith. Viking. RTE $11.99. ISBN 0-670-84481-0.
Gr 3-5 -- Three clever boys escape the clutches of a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a tribe of angry cavewomen. The trials and tribulations of time travel to the Stone Age have never been explored with more verve, vitality, or laugh-out-loud humor. (Oct. 1993)
