Chewing Gum Rescue - Softcover

Mahy, M.

4.45

121 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0416484700 ISBN 13: 9780416484700

Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1990

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This hilarious and magical collection of 11 stories is brimming with unusual and unforgettable characters and their escapades. In all of these remarkable stories, bestselling author Margaret Mahy combines the ordinary with the extraordinary to enchant and delight young readers.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Another sampling of the redoubtable New Zealander's matchless wit and irrepressible imagination, 11 stories that-- like those in The Door in the Air (p. 474)--were published abroad years ago (in this case, 1982) but are being introduced here only now. These early yarns are wonderfully varied in tone but a touch uneven in quality; the title entry, a satire of advertising claims, derives its humor from outrageous slapstick, but even here amusing irony creeps in, along with ebullient wordplay. As in Mahy's other collections, each story is fresh, original, and grounded in bracing common sense--like the one about a family that buys a giant's house that's been converted for normal use except for the bath, which has a cavernous drain that is the source of the action (it wasn't possible to adapt the mammoth plumbing). The theme of creativity occurs several times, e.g. in a story about green thumbs that are viewed as an oddity except by others so gifted. The complaints of a curmudgeonly neighbor about an oddly assorted group of singers in a daily bus queue are the occasion for a charming lampoon of local politics. And, in the long final story, the devil tempts a community of people wise enough to use the talents he makes available without being corrupted by them, in an entertaining but thoughtful exploration of the difference between cleverness and wisdom. Ormerod's occasional drawings are not up to her fine recent work, but they include some nice passages. A must for Mahy fans. (Short stories. 10+) -- Copyright �1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-4-- A collection of 11 short stories that range in length from single episodes to entries with as many as 12 chapters. They are clever and whimsical, if somewhat old-fashioned. The first story, in which mint-flavored gum-chewing children manage to foil would-be robbers, has less appeal than the tale of ``The World's Highest Tray Cloth,'' in which a daring girl hangs her wretchedly sewn tray cloth as a flag on the town's highest pine. The longest story, ``The Devil and the Corner Grocer,'' while reminiscent of Natalie Babbitt's story ``Wishes'' in The Devil's Storybook (Farrar, 1974), is good fun from start to finish. In general the selections tend to rebuff the stuffy, encourage children to reject the dull and conventional, and use their imaginations. Mahy's way with words and tongue-in-cheek asides make even an ordinary incident worth reading about. Ormerod's sketches are not particularly memorable and several are quite dingy. A book that should find favor with fairy-tale enthusiasts. --Phyllis G. Sidorsky, National Cathedral Sch . , Washington, DC
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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