ttuM - Softcover

Jam, Teddy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0888993749 ISBN 13: 9780888993748

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2001

Synopsis

When Charlotte learns that her favorite teacher is leaving the school, she vows to hate the replacement forever. But she finds comfort one afternoon. After a baseball game in which she hits the ball so hard that it explodes, a strange dog follows her home in a rainstorm. The dog responds only to commands spoken backwards — emoC ereh! — so she names him ttuM. ttuM becomes Charlotte’s constant companion, even following the girl to her parents’ summer cottage on a lake. Everything seems to be fine until Charlotte becomes aware of a mysterious person who always dresses in black and likes to go canoeing — a witch! The witch’s house turns out to be just down the road, and it smells enticingly of gingerbread cookies. When ttuM disappears one night, grief-stricken Charlotte decides that she must summon up her courage and go looking for him, even if it means breaking into the witch’s house.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-As this beginning chapter book opens, it's the last day of fourth grade and Charlotte has just learned that the teacher she has adored for the past four years is moving and will be replaced by the awkward Miss Downing. Later that day, the girl rescues a small dog and convinces her parents to let her keep him. Charlotte names the dog ttuM since he only responds when he is spoken to backwards. The girl and her friend then begin the irritating practice of speaking to the dog, and sometimes each other, in reverse. Stopping to transpose the words may prove to be a bit difficult for some readers. Most of the action takes place at a summer cottage on a lake. Here, a mysterious person dressed in black is seen canoeing, the dog disappears, and the girls spot their new teacher in town. By the story's end, the girls learn that Miss Downing is allergic to the sun, and is the mysterious canoeist. She is also the temporary owner of ttuM and looking for a home for him. Each chapter opens with a black-and-white pencil drawing that depicts an upcoming event or scene. Additional full-page drawings are interspersed throughout the book. This light adventure/mystery with sufficiently fleshed-out characters moves along at a steady pace.
Meghan R. Malone, John Curtis Free Library, Hanover, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0888993749
• ISBN 13: 9780888993748
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 110
• Illustrator: Chan Harvey