Much Ado about Aldo (Puffin story books) [Mass Market Paperback]

Johanna Hurwitz (Author), John Wallner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Puffin story books

A precocious little boy, Aldo is interested in everything around him. So it means bad news for him as well as for some crickets when four chameleons arrive to demonstrate nature's food chain.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Johanna Hurwitz is the author of over five dozen books for young readers. She is the recipient of many state awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, and the Garden State Children's Choice Award. She lives in Great Neck, NY, and Wilmington, VT.

Johanna Hurwitz always knew she wanted to be a writer. She started by telling stories to her brother, who is six years her junior, and she's been making up stories ever since. Born and raised in New York City, she earned her B.A. degree from Queens College and went on to receive a master's in library science from Columbia University. She embarked on a career as a children's librarian, but she never forgot that one day she wanted to write books, too.

She worked at the New York Public Library and in a variety of other public and school library positions. She also taught graduate courses in children's literature and storytelling at Queens College. When she and her husband, Uri--a college teacher and writer-and their children, Nomi and Beni, moved to Long Island, she continued her library work.

Although she had told original stories to her children, it was not until they were well along in school that Mrs. Hurwitz actually began to write down her stories. That's why, when children ask her how long it takes to write a book, she replies that her first, Busybody Nora, took her whole life.

But since then she has been writing with regularity, portraying with humor and sympathy the everyday incidents that are so important to children. She is particularly fond of seven- to nine-year-olds, because they are " so very open and get excited about small things," and she enjoys writing realistic fiction for and about them.

That these youngsters are equally fond of Mrs. Hurwitz's books is obvious. She has received many child-chosen state awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, the Garden State Children's Choice Award, the West Virginia Children's Book Award, and others.

In recent years, Johanna Hurwitz has crisscrossed the United States from Juneau, Alaska, to Jackson, Mississippi, and from San Diego, California, to St. Albans, Vermont. She has even spoken abroad, from Morocco to Mozambique and from Portugal to Nicaragua. On these trips she has met and spoken to schoolchildren, teachers, librarians, and parents. She has made many new friends and has often brought home new ideas for her next book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140340823
• ISBN-13: 978-0140340822
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,393,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book!, November 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Much Ado about Aldo (Puffin story books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Hi. I am a third grader from the U.S.A. I like this book because it's sort of like a mystery book. Aldo is looking for Peabody. You should read this book and find out where Peabody is. Peabody is a fat cat. I would give this book five stars because it is the best book of my life and I like Johanna Hurwitz books.

5.0 out of 5 stars Meet Aldo... a real kid, January 19, 2012

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Much ado about Aldo (Paperback)

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"Much Ado About Aldo"
by Johanna Hurwitz
(William Morrow, 1978)
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If you've enjoyed the all classic Beverly Cleary books and are looking for similar material, low-key stories about regular kids in everyday situations, then you might want to check out Johanna Hurwitz and her New York-based ouvre. This is the first of several books about a young boy named Aldo Sossi who is in third grade and eager to learn about the world. Aldo is also a very sensitive kid, and when his teacher first gets some crickets for the class terrariums and then gets some chameleons to eat the crickets (as part of a Science lesson) Aldo gets so upset on the crickets' behalf that he begins to think over his own relationship to food, and realizes that he no longer wants to eat animals himself. This is an excellent introduction to the concept of vegetarianism, and may be a good tool for opening discussions inside families where the issue comes up. (In the future books, Aldo is still a vegetarian, so he may be a good role model or reaffirmation for children who make similar choices.) More importantly, the tone of Hurwitz's writing is always a delight - fun to read aloud, with characters you can grow close to. Recommended! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)