From Publishers Weekly
A bit less satisfying than the Klises' Regarding the Fountain, this summer camp mystery employs the same roundabout storytelling style, unfolding its plot through an avalanche of letters, memos, menus, ledgers and legal documents. The premise is clever: Camp Happy Harmony, run by the six Harmony Family Singers, accepts siblings who constantly fight and turns them into happy brother-sister pairs. With an abundance of characters to keep straight, the author cooks up no-holds-barred caricatures and spoofs. Thus campers Barbie Q. and Brisket Roast, two bickering Texans who "fight like starving dogs over a T-bone," are joined by the snooty Brits Mimi and Ivan Gems and the very average Charlotte and Charlie Lee. It soon becomes apparent that the Harmony Singers are anything but a happy family, and the children set out to discover their not-so-nice secrets. The energetic string of documents that tell the story appear here on overactive spreads, seemingly designed to cater to the MTV generation's appetite for constant visual stimulation. On the whole this busy send-up offers easy entertainment: the humor is obvious but kid-friendly, the mystery simple yet fun to solve. Ages 8-12. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7Like the Klises Regarding the Fountain (Avon, 1998), this quirky, humorous novel is told through letters, memos, shopping receipts, ledger entries, post-its, and news articles. Three brother/sister pairs are signed up by their parents for a month at Camp Harmony, where they are to work on their inharmonious sibling relationships with the Harmonys, six over-the-hill siblings who were once a popular family singing act. Barbie Q. and Brisket Roast from Texas, Ivan and Mimi Gems from London, and Charlie and Charlotte Lee from Illinois quickly realize how strange the camp is, with its nonstop chores and terrible food. They also realize that the Harmonys dont really like one another. In fact, they seem to be trying to kill one another off. Ivan, an aspiring mystery writer, is in his element as the youngsters put aside their own squabbles, unite against the adults, and try to discover the truth. Ironically, in the process, the siblings learn to get along, just as the brochure promised. With copious black-and-white sketches, each page is a collage of written evidence through which the story unfolds not as a straightforward narrative, but rather piecemeal like a puzzle. The book has clearly drawn heroes and villains, lots of puns and knee-slapping shenanigans, and the illicit thrill of reading other peoples mail. A bit cute and chaotic, this novel will attract students with a wacky sense of humor who enjoy piecing together a mystery.Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
