Synopsis
A quick, inventive chapter book featuring an unusual hero--an eight-year-old worrier.
We meet Stuart pressed against a rainy window, worried and bored. Worried, because hundreds of things could go wrong in a new house, a new town, a new school. Bored, because he has no one to play with and because his collection of Valuable Things disappeared during the move. He really needs an adventure.
In one fateful moment, it all becomes clear: Stuart realizes that in order to have adventure, he needs a cape! After all, don't all those superheroes have capes? Each day the cape brings a different and unexpected adventure. He entertains a gorilla, a horse, and a dinosaur in his bedroom.
Reviews
Grade 2-4-Stuart is bound and determined to find himself an adventure. Of course, everyone knows that only happens to those who have capes and thus, armed with several old ties, one rusty stapler, and a purple sock, the child creates a magic garment that allows him to fly, to grow toast, and, finally, to make a friend. This zany easy chapter book is also the story of a small boy coping with the fears that accompany a move to a new town (do robbers live next door?) and the start of a new school year (will he be able to find the bathroom?). The story is hilariously descriptive and will appeal to both slower and more proficient readers, and its engaging flow makes for a great read-aloud. Matje's quirky cartoon pencil drawings add to the weird flavor of the book.
Robyn Ryan Vandenbroek, Elgin Court Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Pennypacker's (Dumbstruck) winsomely warped tale introduces eight-year-old, woe-is-me Stuart, whose family has just moved to a new town. The boy feels anxious about many things, including his new house ("What if there were man-eating spiders in his new bedroom closet? Or, a man eating spiders?"); getting locked inside the bathroom of his new school; and the possibility that no one in third grade will want to be his friend. "Stuart was very good at worrying. He was not so good at waiting." Impatient for adventure, Stuart suddenly realizes, "Adventures only happen to people with capes!" He fashions his own by stapling together 100 old ties and the adventures begin. The funniest scenario involves the cape-draped lad's realization that he can fly-but he can't land until his aunt makes a giant slingshot and sends him a pound cake to weigh him down. Most preposterous is the final episode: after Stuart's parents forbid him to wear his superhero gear on school orientation day, his cat falls asleep on his cape and ends up switching identities with the trash collector-but the upshot is realistic (Stuart makes a friend). Matje's (A Pig Named Perrier) pen-and-ink spreads and spot illustrations (a standout shows Stuart racing across the top of a spread, his cape-of-ties sailing behind him) amplify Pennypacker's quirky humor. The wry tone may be lost on some readers, yet others will happily escape with Stuart as he embarks on his confidence-building flights of fancy. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 2-4. In Stuart's world, the real, the eccentric, and the magical all spin together, but the tone is utterly matter-of-fact. Stuart's family has just moved to Punbury, and Stuart is anxious about all sorts of things: "What if there were man-eating spiders in his new bedroom closet? Or, a man eating spiders?" In his boredom and restlessness, he decides to be a superhero and makes himself a cape. When he is wearing his cape, adventures do seem to follow, each with its own unique twist. Pennypacker's writing is top-notch; she uses word choices, punctuation, rhythm, and other literary elements in surprising and funny ways. It's possible to read the book solely as Stuart's imagination at work, but it's more fun to believe that Stuart's cat, One-Tooth, really does end up driving the trash truck or that eating a greedy amount of angel food cake makes Stuart fly. This entertaining book gets at the truth of children's feelings and is a good choice for reading aloud to a slightly younger crew. Illustrations not seen. Susan Dove Lempke
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