Grade 3-6?Apprehensive about meeting his great-aunt for the first time, Simon envisions a stereotyped old, feeble, child-hating witch. What he finds instead is a kindhearted goofball who admonishes him for not interrupting and for asking too few questions. Along with her curmudgeonly and irascible husband Philbert, Mattie sets out to give goody two-shoes Simon "un-lessons" so he can produce a variety of armpit tunes, as well as burp satisfyingly. Cussing (as opposed to cretin cursing), using alliterative and creatively concatenated words, is another "proper kid" skill Simon learns. So, armed with new talents and an unabridged vocabulary, he returns to face his aunt, uncle, and corpulent cousin who are staying at his home until their seemingly interminable interior decoration project is completed. While Aunt Mattie and Uncle Philbert are supposed to be free spirits unencumbered by trivial adult rules, they come across instead as silly and irritating, sort of like bored, obnoxious children. Rudeness is a tricky form of self-defense, and MacDonald misleads her readers into believing they can cuss?and spit?their way out of confrontations with bullies. And sassing teachers (even when defending a fellow student), overbearing relatives, or a traffic cop may seem cathartic to rules-laden children, but they'll soon find that a dissolute week in the country may be as much anarchy as they can handle.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 4^-7. When 11-year-old Simon is sent by train to spend spring vacation with his eccentric great-aunt and -uncle, he is apprehensive but resigned. Simon realizes this will be no ordinary vacation when Aunt Mattie greets him with a dripping goldfish bowl on the front seat, and Uncle Philbert insists he learn how to burp out loud and cuss. He is shocked by their rude parrot and the general disarray of their unconventional home. He learns how to spit from three ornery llamas and sleeps with an obnoxious cat. By the time Simon returns to his parents, he has also learned the true reasons behind politeness and manners. He tries out his new lessons on several occasions with relatives and schoolmates, proving that he can think for himself about lots of issues. This book, illustrated with delightful pen-and-ink drawings by Cat Bowman Smith, tells a humorous story with a warm message. Susan DeRonne --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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