Mahy (The Greatest Show Off Earth) again whips up a delectable brew of the almost-credible and the outright fantastic, laced with wryly understated dialogue and droll, Monty Python-esque ingredients. The?perhaps coincidentally named?hero is Monty Merryandrew, a lad whose father is a "government philosopher" employed by the Department of National Despair and whose mother is a jigsaw puzzle whiz able to assemble stretches of cloudless blue sky at the rate of 100 pieces a minute. Though preoccupied with winning the National Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, she takes action when Monty confides that he has been playing with a ghost who has for years been haunting the rusted old car in the far corner of their garden. Monty finds himself enrolled at the Brinsley Codd School for Sensible Thought, which, of course, proves far from sensible. Jolly good fun ensues after the ghost of long-deceased Brinsley Codd descends from his portrait and beseeches Monty to track down three former students (the ghost fears he has ruined their lives by refusing to cane them when they misbehaved). Adept at puzzles herself, Mahy snugly fits all the pieces of her plot together in an ending that gives the eccentric characters reason to celebrate. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-An enjoyable and entertaining novel with a touch of the supernatural. Ghosts make Monty sneeze, at least as long as they are invisible. His worried mother, who does not believe in his allergy, enrolls him in the Brinsley Codd School for Sensible Thought. On his first day there, Monty has a severe sneezing attack that is only cured by the appearance of the ghost of Brinsley Codd. The apparition is not only searching for the 800-page manuscript of his novel, but is also worried that by not caning discipline problems when he was principal, he has ruined the lives of several former students. Monty agrees to search for the three now middle-aged pupils to discover what kind of adults they have become. With the added problems of helping his mother come up with a free-form puzzle for the National Jigsaw Puzzle Championship and dealing with a teacher who dislikes him intensely, the boy has his hands full. This book is quick-paced and filled with unexpected twists and turns. The comical characters and well-constructed plot combine for a fun read. Amusing, black-and-white line drawings add to the lighthearted mood. Readers who enjoy Betty Ren Wright's stories will find this a humorous change of pace.
Janet Hilbun, Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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