Deep Doo-Doo - Hardcover

Delaney, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525456473 ISBN 13: 9780525456476

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1996

Synopsis

Bennet and Pete invent a television transmitter and put it to use during a televised governor's race, but their humor is not appreciated by all, and they soon find themselves in trouble as they learn that the police and FBI are trying to find out who is to blame.

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Reviews

Grade 4-7-This book will get a lot of mileage from its title alone. It's about two 12-year-olds who build a TV transmitter and override a local station's broadcasts. Bennet is a stutterer and a scientific genius (unbeknownst to his folks). He and his happy-go-lucky but sensitive best friend, Pete, discover that their latest electronics project works better than they ever imagined it would. Bennet's dad, a reporter for the local newspaper, rails against the hypocrisy of the governor, who is always pontificating about "family values" rather than addressing any real concerns. Pete, outraged when Bennet clues him in on the politician's posturing, is inspired to use their newfound invention to sabotage the incumbent's locally televised speech with a home movie showing his black Lab "speaking out" on the issues. Delaney's characterizations are cardboard, the politics trivialized, and the mystery, as such, is weak; but none of these flaws will prevent kids from enjoying the cartoon possibility of breaking into broadcasting through electronic legerdemain. While the premise is technically fragile, the politics are preachy, and the stuttering insufferable, readers may actually show some interest in the historical references, although they'll hardly listen to, much less analyze, the next candidate's speech.
John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Delaney's (Henry's Special Delivery) mildly amusing story of boy inventor Bennet Ordway's interference with an upcoming gubernatorial race is liberal politics lite. Frustrated with the incumbent's hypocritical "family values" platform, 12-year-old Bennet and his friend Pete use a souped-up television transmitter to interrupt the governor's speeches with clever commentary on the importance of funding health care, education and the environment. Bennet, signing himself "Deep Doo-doo" after Watergate informant Deep Throat, sends his newspaper-reporter father hints on the hot story. The broadcasting scenes sparkle with swift action and political puns, but the end result is anticlimactically humorless-the bad guy loses the election and Mr. Ordway learns he needs to spend more time with his son. Characters are a bit hollow, defined chiefly by token qualities: Bennet has a stutter and always wears the same hat, while Pete never leaves home without his Frisbee. Still, the premise is delivered with enough punch that this romp may be enjoyed by junior inventors, future reporters and those who can overcome their embarrassment at reaching for a book with "doo-doo" in the title. Ages 8-11.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A rarity in children's books: a humorous political thriller. Bennet, 12, listens as his parents bemoan local politics, with an election just weeks away. His latest invention is a television transmitter, with which he and his best friend, Pete, can commandeer the local TV station's airwaves. They use this ability- -and Pete's black Labrador retriever as spokesdog--to comment on the governor's bid for reelection. Their little prank soon spirals out of control as national media coverage puts reporters, the police, and the FBI on their trail. The appalling title may put off adults, but this page-turner is carefully plotted and paced, and introduces a full program of intriguing issues in the context of an exciting story. Along the way, Delaney ably skewers politicians, the media, and pundits of all stripes. Topical and thoughtful, but mostly entertaining. (Fiction. 8-11) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4^-6. When 11-year-old gadget guru Bennet and his best pal Pete tinker with an old shortwave transmitter and some scrap parts, they intend to broadcast only between their two houses. However, they soon realize that they can disrupt the transmission of a local TV station and hatch some mischief by interposing the governor's speeches with shots of Pete's dog accompanied by a politically critical voice-over. As the media speculate, the plot thickens when Bennet's journalist father receives secret messages from a Deep Throat type dubbed "Deep Doo-Doo." The tension and hilarity intensify right up to the election and the inevitable revelation of Deep Doo-Doo's identity. Most of the adults are caricatures, and the premise is a bit far-fetched, but the boys are such real kids that the whole thing seems very believable and very funny. This should satisfy aspiring inventors and children who enjoy a good laugh at the expense of adults. Linda Perkins

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525456473
• ISBN 13: 9780525456476
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176