Davol (The Paper Dragon) finds a happy beat with this boisterous story of a girl driven to drum. Maggie, the pride of Serena, Kansas, was born a drummer--her doctor ascribes her predetermined vocation to the Fourth of July parade, led by the Kansas Drum and Bugle Corps, that marched right past the Serena Hospital at the moment of her birth. All signs point to her calling: Maggie bangs in her crib, on her high chair and all over the house, prompting Mama's pleas: "Stop, Maggie. My aching ears!" Things get rock 'n' rolling when Maggie receives her first real drum set at age six. Her "Brumm-brumm-brammity-BRUMM, BRUMM, BRUMM" proves loud enough to sink sidewalks, shatter windows and disgruntle the mayor, who quickly outlaws drumming. But when Maggie's "music" drives away a potentially deadly tornado, the mayor and the townspeople happily proclaim her the "loudest, fastest, best drummer in the State of Kansas." Davol delivers the good fun of a tall tale, though mid-book her plot starts to meander, slowing the dramatic momentum. Smith (Nine for California) employs a creamy gouache palette for her chipper yet quaint renderings of small-town USA from days gone by. Maggie's red hair, confident grin and sporty cowboy/marching boots suggest her true spitfire nature. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-From the moment of her birth, Maggie cares about little but drumming-loud, incessant, exuberant drumming that makes her mother exclaim, "Oh, my aching ears!" The other citizens of Serena are just as unhappy with Maggie's ambition to be the "loudest, fastest, best drummer in the State of Kansas," although they relent temporarily when her drumming saves them from an attack of killer wasps. Mayor Plogg, however, continues to complain and passes a law forbidding drumming. He doesn't relent until the day a gigantic tornado roars into town. Maggie breaks the storm into pieces with her throbbing drumbeat, the townspeople cheer proudly, and from then on Maggie is allowed to drum up and down Main Street every afternoon. Smith's action-packed, gouache cartoons are well suited to the lively mood of the humorous text with its tall-tale style exaggeration.
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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