Raising Sweetness - Hardcover

Stanley, Diane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399232257 ISBN 13: 9780399232251

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 1999

Synopsis

Ever since the kindhearted sheriff done adopted little Sweetness (and all them other precious orphans), things has been darn near perfect out in Possum Trot. Only problem is, the meals is just a mite too interestin' (such as pickle and banana pie) and the housekeepin' is downright peculiar. Ever so often, them young 'uns start to wishin' their sweet pa would go and get hisself married. When a mysterious letter arrives one day, Sweetness figures it might be the solution to all their problems?if only they can learn how to read it! But don't worry. She's done it afore; she can do it again. Leave it to Sweetness to save the day! Diane Stanley and Brian Karas' Saving Sweetness was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in School Library Journal, Booklist and American Bookseller, and reviewers praised the "rollicking telling... that begs to be enjoyed aloud."?Booklist

About this title

From AudioFile:

Young Sweetness, Diane Stanley's lovable orphan, is back! Now that her adopted dad, Tex, has taken in the orphans, Sweetness sets her sights, unbeknownst to him, on reuniting him with his long lost love. Reading is key to her goal, and the place to be is the local school. Sweetness is undaunted when the teacher turns out to be Mrs. Sump, the former mistress of the orphanage. One could not ask for a better narrator for this tall tale than Tom Bodett. His pace is easy and his twang perfect. Neither Tex's cooking nor his letters written on soap wrappers can faze Bodett. As he spins this story, take time to savor Brian Karas's fine illustrations. A.R. 2004 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Publishers Weekly:

In the amiable Saving Sweetness, Stanley and Karas introduced a clumsy and golden-hearted sheriff who adopts little Sweetness and her seven fellow orphans. In this equally charming sequel, the unmarried sheriff labors to be a good parent. "Every dang day I sweep their little beds and hang their clothes out on the line to get clean!" he boasts, unaware that his cleaning methods are dubious at best. The orphans urge him to find a mate, and one day a letter arrives, foreshadowing better times. But the happy ending is postponed, for the sheriff cannot read. It's up to Sweetness to learn her ABCs in a hurry. As readers will suspect, the message comes from the sheriff's "long lost love, Lucy Locket," a New York City teacher who must be lured back to rural Possum Trot to become a happily married working mother of eight. Karas contributes witty pencil portraits of angelic Lucy, the ingenuous sheriff and keen-minded Sweetness. His multimedia collages, which include torn handmade paper, scraps of wallpaper and pasty washes of rosy-hued paint, convey homespun warmth. Stanley, an expert at folksy first-person dialogue, sprinkles the sheriff's amusing narration with Texas vernacular (e.g., he claims to have loved Lucy "since God made dirt"). This comic tale offers almost enough humor to make up for Lucy's getting the lion's share of the chores. If only Part Three could find the sheriff a housecleaning whiz and a decent chef to boot. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0399232257
• ISBN 13: 9780399232251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32