From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–When his parents move to Hoboken, NJ, and his bike is stolen the first hour he's there, clever and resourceful middle-grader Ivan Itch goes looking for the thief, and in the process meets quirky adults and solves some mysteries. He becomes friends with neighborhood kids Bruno Ugg and Loretta Fischetti, and they attend the town's Bat Hat Festival, where a tall, phantomlike figure appears. He pedals away on Ivan's "light blue bike with pink hearts and flowers painted on the frame." Then the children's Classics Comics books are missing. Surprises and plot twists pepper the story as the youngsters set out to discover just what is going on. The adults evade their logical questions about a mysterious, oversized chicken and the young detectives seek help from the librarian, Starr Lackawanna, "a woman with wild hair, wearing what looked like a gym suit with rainbow-striped leg warmers and cape." With her assistance, the children, especially Ivan, piece together the evidence that the phantom is hiding the stolen goods in an old abandoned cave. The 266-pound hen Henrietta who starred in
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (Aladdin, 1977) enters the scene and sets the stage for many laughs. Ivan is a well-developed character, and readers are likely to sympathize with him. Jill Pinkwater's black-and-white, block-print illustrations are a perfect match for this zany story that's sure to elicit lots of grins.
–James K. Irwin, Nichols Library, Naperville, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
If you're in the mood to be charmed, delighted, and thoroughly engaged--in short, if you want to be happy--then race out and get the newest Daniel Pinkwater children's book, which is intended for children aged 6 to 106. In his inimitable sort-of-New Jersey accent, Pinkwater shares the story of Nick, a boy who has moved with his inattentive family to Hoboken. There his bike is stolen and he listens to pirate radio, meets cool friends who love Classic Comics as much as he does, and uncovers the secret of Arthur Bobowicz and his 266-pound chicken. What more does one want in a plot? It's clever; it's funny; it's oddly moving. Pinkwater reads with abandoned perfection, and, like the best comedians, he always waits for the laugh. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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