Scarlett Angelina Wolverton-Manning - Hardcover

Ogburn, Jacqueline K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803713770 ISBN 13: 9780803713772

Publisher: Dial, 1994

Synopsis

When Scarlett Angelina Wolverton-Manning--who has the crafty Wolverton smile and the huge Manning eyes--is kidnapped by her chauffeur and demands to go home, the chauffeur has no idea of what he has gotten himself into.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Much of the fun of this oddball romp is rereading it for the clues missed the first time through. The protagonist's name (given to the title) is an early indication that our protagonist is, well, of a different breed. While returning home for a French lesson with her tutor, Scarlett is kidnapped by the family chauffeur, Ralph Falstaff. Her parents agree to meet Falstaff at a cemetery and pay the ransom, on one condition: she must be home before dark. Their provision seems utterly sensible, but it ushers in a shivery surprise. As Scarlett's parents arrive with the money, a full moon appears in the night sky-and the dignified couple begins to howl. "'Hold on kid, we're getting out of here!' [Ralph] shouted as he zoomed the car toward the gates of the graveyard. 'Werewolves! I can't believe those people are werewolves.' And in the backseat Scarlett Angelina said, 'GGGGRRRR.'" Spooky, funny details (such as Scarlett's taste for very rare meat) find an outstanding match with Ajhar's swirling, murky and blithely comic watercolors. Some of the settings invoke the spirit of Charles Addams, but, with Ajhar's bright-eyed, toothy characters, he establishes his own kid-pleasing vision. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. When Scarlett Angelina, the only daughter of the rich Wolverton-Mannings, is kidnapped, the kidnapper doesn't pay much attention to her parents' insistence that she be returned before dark. More the fool he. After dispatchingÿ20the beefy kidnapper's parrot, fish, and cat, the preternaturally composed little girl downs a rare burger in three dainty bites. When the Wolverton-Mannings rendezvous with their daughter and her kidnapper by the light of the full moon, the kidnapper finally discovers the family secret--and as he leaps into his car to flee the werewolf parents, Scarlett Angelina growls from his back seat. Ogburn'sÿ20clever storytelling makes it clear that absolutely nothing fazes self-possessed Scarlett Angelina. Ajhar's watercolors are evocatively set--from manor house to hidden cottage to moonlit graveyard--and his characterizations are wonderfully humorous and expressive. The book is an unqualified howl. Janice Del Negro

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0803713770
• ISBN 13: 9780803713772
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32