Tangles

When she takes money from her neighbor's wallet in order to buy a kitten, Sophie finds that she cannot live with the guilt

Grade 3-4-As soon as Sophie sees the black kitten at a fair, she knows she must have it. However, the only way she can buy it is to steal the money from her kindly neighbor, and after she does so, she is consumed by guilt. When she finally confronts the elderly woman, she learns important lessons about honesty and love. The most clever aspect of the book is its title-when Sophie names the cat Tangles, she is also foreshadowing problems that result from her dishonest action. Unfortunately, the story itself is predictable. Sophie avoids Mrs. Cochran and is rude to her family and friends. When she eventually brings herself to talk to her neighbor, she realizes that Mrs. Cochran knows what happened and understands. Everyone is friends again, and Sophie's odd behavior is attributed to a case of appendicitis. A subplot about keeping and feeding silkworms does not do much to further the plot. Furthermore, this practice may be common in Australia, but will puzzle most American readers, as will some of the vocabulary. A second subplot about a boy who steals a pigeon for Sophie's brother serves as yet another illustration of the theme that honesty is the best policy. Competently written, Tangles succeeds in getting its point across, but does so in a businesslike rather than artful manner.
Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Neither her family nor her friends can console Sophie after her cat is hit by a car. At a local fair, however, Sophie discovers some kittens for sale at about the same time that she finds a wallet that belongs to her neighbor Mrs. Cochran. "Borrowing" five dollars, she purchases the small black kitten. As Sophie struggles with her conscience and some ongoing stomach pains, she learns that the latter are the result of an appendicitis attack. A compassionate, satisfying resolution avoids sermonizing, and the author's native Australian setting adds interest (the five-dollar bill, intriguingly, is purple). Slow pacing may detract from the story, which is, however, credible and focused on a conflict that will be of keen interest to the suggested age group. Simple loose black-and-white drawings neatly grace this quiet tale. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The consequences of living with a bad conscience are explored in a short novel by the Australian author of Dear Mr. Sprouts (1993). Sophie mourns the death of her cat Ginger until the moment she sees Tangles at the fair. Coming upon the black kitten after frittering her money away on other purchases, she lacks the five dollars needed to buy him; in desperation, she steals the money from a beloved neighbor. Though both emotional and physical pangs (a stomach pain that becomes appendicitis) are kindled by Sophie's secret transgression, Broome handles its effects on her friendship and family with a light touch. Sophie is a strong, endearing character who invites reader identification, as does her dilemma. James's small, breezy sketches, peppered throughout the invitingly open format, nicely complement the story. (Fiction. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4-6. After a car hits and kills her pet cat, Sophie scorns the idea of a replacement. Then, at a church bazaar, she falls in love with a kitten. Unfortunately, she has already spent her money. When she finds an elderly neighbor's wallet on the walkway, she cannot resist taking the money to buy the kitten. Her secret theft gnaws at her happiness, and she finally fesses up to the neighbor, who is understanding. As it turns out, the gnawing pain Sophie feels is more than just guilt--it's also appendicitis. Sophie's relations with her friends and her brother, Tom, are well drawn, as is a subplot about a boy so eager to be Tom's friend that he steals a present for him. Mary Harris Veeder