Singer (Deal with a Ghost) serves up an energetic but predictable male Cinderella story, with a supernatural twist. Ever since his mother's supposed death, 11-year-old Solomon Yanish has lived with his hard-edged stepmother, "Old Staircase," and his two stepbrothers, Jason and Mason. Old Staircase makes Solly do all the chores and rewards her lazy, bullying biological children with expensive gifts. His father, perpetually away on business, doesn't seem to care. But when the mysterious Circus Lunicus comes to town after a six-year absence, and Solly's toy lizard begins to grow to enormous proportions, Solly begins to suspect the truth: his mother was involved with the circus in mysterious ways. Freeble Komodeeble, once a lizard toy but now his fairy godmother, teaches Solly "Lizardry" and tells him secrets in a made-up dialect. For example, after transforming the malevolent stepbrothers into Solly's doting servants, she quips, "Just a weeble switchereeble." The climactic scene is utter mayhemDSolly himself calls it "bedlam"Dwith plot elements that are more over the top than Big Top. The strange activities of the circus will intrigue fantasy fansDeven if they can guess the plot's resolution. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-Solly Yanish's dad is off again on yet another long, slightly mysterious business trip, leaving the boy at the mercy of his stepmother and two disagreeable stepbrothers. The only good thing to look forward to is the return of the magical Circus Lunicus. Just when it appears that he won't be able to go because of his many chores, a fairy lizard arrives-sounds like a fractured Cinderella, except that his mother is not dead as he had been told, but is the half-alien and half-human daughter of the circus Ringmaster. The opening chapters are charming, with references to the circus, mysterious developments, and a refreshingly multifaceted stepmother. Solly is a likable lad, and his stepbrothers have a few interesting quirks. As Freeble, the fairy lizard, begins to grow, the plot takes a turn downward. The creature's language, basically English with an "eeble" added to the end of many words, grows tiresome and the pacing becomes rather frantic with alien alligators and a convoluted conclusion. This offbeat novel should appeal to graduates of Jon Scieszka's "Time Warp Trio" tales (Viking). An even stronger humorous alien romp is Daniel Pinkwater's Lizard Music (Dell, 1996).
Marilyn Payne Phillips, University City Public Library, MO
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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