From Publishers Weekly
Gantos draws inspiration from his own childhood diaries in the fourth collection of stories about Jack Henry. In these nine tales, his aggravations include his annoying older sister, some crazy cats, a tapeworm and a pair of escaped convicts. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)n
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-This fourth book in a series of loosely knit autobiographical stories featuring Gantos's alter ego, Jack Henry, is a prequel to Heads or Tails (Farrar, 1994). Once again, the boy's peripatetic family has moved, this time from North Carolina to Miami. While the geographical location is different, much remains the same in Jack's life: an unbearable older sister and pesky younger brother, his love and admiration for his Dad, chronic problems with pets, and encounters with a number of unusual characters. But what most defines the boy is his absolute captivation with anything disgusting. Indeed, the short story he composes for school about his friend's tapeworm makes Thomas Rockwell's How to Eat Fried Worms (Yearling, 1953) seem like a picnic. But, even with his irresistible fascination with the gross and the weird, Jack is a likable and appealing fifth grader. His first-person preadolescent musings and worries are poignant, funny, and real. While his generous imagination may take him to extremes, his intentions are good; he strives to do the right thing, although circumstances seem invariably to get in the way of the intended outcome. These nine stories range from the macabre to the hilarious and from the surreal to the quirky. They will touch a familiar chord with readers who are struggling to figure out a world that seems complex and confusing.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
