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This Can’t Be Happening At MacDonald Hall

macdonaldhallThis Can’t Be Happening at MacDonald Hall by Gordon Korman, 1978.

Bruno and Melvin (called Boots) have been roommates ever since they began attending boarding school at MacDonald Hall.  The two of them are best friends, and they do everything together.  Quite a lot of what they do involves practical jokes.  But, they’ve really been pushing the limit with their antics, and when they go a little too far during a hockey game, the headmaster gives them the ultimate punishment: they can no longer share a room.  Mr. Sturgeon thinks that they’re a bad influence on each other.  Each of them is assigned to a new roommate, and they won’t even be able to hang out together.

The prospect of losing each other as best friends is too much for Bruno and Boots. Besides, neither of them likes their new roommates.  Boots has to share a room with George, who comes from a wealthy family and is only interested in money.  George is also a germophobe who hates it that Boots sneezes every morning when he wakes up.  Bruno’s new roommate is Elmer, the school’s supreme science nerd.  Elmer isn’t happy about Bruno’s presence, either, because Bruno and his belongings take up valuable space that Elmer requires for his many projects.  Obviously, the situation is completely intolerable for everyone.

Bruno, the idea man of the duo, declares that he will find a way for him and Boots to become roommates again.  They meet secretly at night to discuss their plans.  The boys try every tactic they can think of.  They try making themselves completely obnoxious to their new roommates so that Mr. Sturgeon will have pity on them and give them their old room assignments.  They try framing George and Elmer for some outrageous pranks of their own so Mr. Sturgeon will think that they’re a bad influence on Bruno and Boots.  Bruno and Boots even try (as an extreme measure) behaving themselves!  What will finally work?

This is the first book in the MacDonald Hall Series (or Bruno and Boots) series.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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Cranberry Thanksgiving

cranberrythanksgivingCranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1971.

Maggie and her grandmother like to invite friends to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Grandmother always tells Maggie to invite someone who doesn’t have anyone else to spend the holiday with.  This year, Grandmother has invited Mr. Horace, a pleasant man with an elegant manner staying at the local hotel.  Maggie has invited Mr. Whiskers, a friendly but somewhat scruffy sailor who has been on his own for years.

Grandmother has never really approved of Maggie’s friendship with Mr. Whiskers (whose real name is Uriah Peabody, but is called Mr. Whiskers because of his long, busy beard).  Mr. Whiskers’s unkempt appearance and lack of refinement have always bothered her.  She also suspects Mr. Whiskers of wanting to steal the secret recipe for her famous cranberry bread because he often shows up when she’s making it.  Some people have offered her a great deal of money for her recipe, but she insists that it’s a family secret that she’s leaving to Maggie.  Still, Mr. Whiskers has been a good friend to Maggie, so she allows him to come to Thanksgiving dinner.

As it happens, someone is out to steal Grandmother’s recipe, but not the person that she suspects.  It’s a nice holiday story about how appearances can be deceptive and real friendship is shown through honest behavior.

This book is part of a series, and like all the other books in the series, there is a recipe in the back.  The recipe in this book is for Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.

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Sarah Morton’s Day

sarahmortonSarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters, 1989.

This book is part of a series of historical picture books. It features a young girl who was an historical interpreter at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum, playing the part of a real pilgrim girl who lived in 17th century Plymouth.  The pilgrim girl’s name was Sarah Morton, and she was nine years old in 1627, the year that Plimoth Plantation reenacts.

As Sarah Morton, the girl takes readers through a typical day in her life.  She demonstrates the chores that a pilgrim girl would have to perform.  She explains the clothes that a pilgrim girl would wear and what people ate.  There is a recipe for 17th Century Indian Corn Bread, a simple recipe that readers can make at home, but it warns that modern people wouldn’t think that it tastes very good.  It’s basically just water and cornmeal grits.

sarahmortonpic1Although much of Sarah Morton’s day is taken up with chores, she also discusses her relationship with her mother and her new stepfather.  The death of a parent was something that pilgrim children often experienced.  After her father’s death, Sarah’s mother remarried, and Sarah is concerned about whether her new father likes her.

However, her stepfather is a good man who cares about her.  He gives her lessons in reading and writing, something that not every pilgrim girl would have.  He also gives her a special toy: a knicker box, which is a wooden box with arches for rolling marbles through as a game.  She gets to play with her friend, Elizabeth.

The two girls are also excited about a ship that has been sighted out at sea.  Soon, new people will be coming to their colony, and they wonder if the ship is also carrying letters from England or special goods that they would like, like a new bolt of cloth.

In the back of the book, there are sections explaining a little about the Plimoth Plantation living history museum, the real Sarah Morton, and the girl portraying Sarah Morton, Amelia Poole. The Plimoth Plantation site has more information about the real Sarah’s Morton’s life, including what happened to her when she grew up.  If you’re curious about what Amelia Poole is doing today, she is a fiber artist and lives in Maine.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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The Tap Dance Mystery

eeetapThe Tap Dance Mystery by Susan Pearson, 1990.

The kids in Ernie’s class are assigned to groups to plan different acts for the show that they will have when their parents visit the school on Parents’ Night. The Martians are assigned to different groups. R. T.’s group is going to do magic tricks. Michael’s group is going to pretend to be a music group from Jupiter and play different homemade instruments. Unfortunately, William and Ernie are in the same group as Marcie, a mean and bossy girl who always smells sticky and sweet, like Juicy Fruit gum.

Marcie convinces the others that their group should tap dance because she has been taking lessons and can teach the others. William and Ernie struggle to learn the steps and make homemade tap shoes by tacking washers onto the bottoms of their shoes. Jason, the fourth member of their group, really likes dancing and shows a lot of talent for learning the moves. Still, only Marcie really looks the part of a dancer in her fancy costume and beautiful tap shoes.

Several kids ask Marcie if they can try on her tap shoes, including Jason, but she refuses to let them. Every day, she hides her shoes in a different place in their classroom when she isn’t there to watch them. When the shoes disappear, Marcie is convinced that Jason took them, but he says he didn’t. Ernie believes him, but she has to hurry if she is going to find the shoes and clear his name before Parents’ Night.

The solution to this mystery is fairly simple, but the story also has some interesting insights into the reasons why Marcie acts the way she does and the effect that parents’ expectations can have on their children.

This is part of the Eagle-Eye Ernie series.  The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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The Bogeyman Caper

eeebogeymanThe Bogeyman Caper by Susan Pearson, 1990.

This is part of the Eagle-Eye Ernie  mystery series.

Everyone says that the old yellow house in their town, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, is inhabited by a bogeyman, but Ernie doesn’t believe it. She decides to prove to her friends that there is no bogeyman in the old house.

Ernie finds ways for her and her friends to keep an eye on the house.  At first, all they see is a creepy-looking old cat. Then, William finds a strange bone in the yard, and Ernie sees a red glow inside and hears tapping sounds. Are her friends right about the bogeyman, or is there another explanation?

Ernie uses her powers of observation to determine that many of the spooky things about the house and its new owner are actually familiar, both to herself and her friends.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, 1989.

Horace the elephant is turning eleven years old, so he’s invited all of his animal friends to his house for a costume party.  The best part will be the extraordinary feast that Horace has created himself with all kinds of cakes and pastries and other desserts.

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But, Horace refuses to let his friends eat any of the goodies until after they’ve played the party games. The guests have a lot of fun, but through all the games, they’re still thinking about that glorious feast. Only, when they finally go to eat, the food is all gone! Who could have taken it?

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

This picture book is actually a puzzle book, with puzzles difficult enough to even challenge adults.  Hidden within each of the large pictures taking up the entire page of each page in the book, are secret messages that hint at the identity of the thief, who is one of the party guests.  Some of the messages are in code.  Although a young child might enjoy the pictures in the book and the rhymes of the story, it would take someone older to be able to solve the puzzles.

There is a way to find the thief without finding the hidden messages or solving any codes, but it still requires attention to detail. There is a section in the back of the book that explains everything, pointing out all the secrets that you can find in the pictures, including the names of one of the giraffes and the swan, whose names are not given in the story itself.

But, don’t skip straight to the answers.  As Base himself says at the beginning to the section of answers, “the getting of wisdom is no match for the thrill of the chase, and those who choose the longer road shall reap their reward!”

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The Red Trailer Mystery

Trixie Belden Series

trixietrailer#2 The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell, 1950.

This story picks up immediately where the previous book in the series leaves off.  Jim Frayne, although heir to a great deal of money, ran away to keep himself and his fortune out of the hands of his scheming stepfather.  He plans to find work to support himself until he’s old enough to return and claim his inheritance in his own right.

However, his uncle’s lawyer has collected enough evidence that Jim’s stepfather is an unfit guardian that he says he can arrange for Jim to have another guardian.  Trixie and Honey travel in a trailer along with Honey’s governess, Miss Trask, searching for their friend Jim so they can tell him that he’s safe from his stepfather.

Along the way, they meet a family traveling in a red trailer. The family is dressed in ragged clothes, and they look half-starved. They seem to be very upset about something, and the parents discourage their children from talking to Trixie and Honey. For reasons the girls don’t understand, the oldest girl in the family runs away into the woods and her family leaves the trailer camp without her.

Later, the girls meet a state trooper who is looking for a trailer matching the description of the red trailer the family had. Apparently, there have been several thefts of trailers in the area recently. Could the family they met be involved in the thefts?  Will Trixie and Honey ever find Jim?

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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The Secret of the Mansion

Trixie Belden Series

trixiemansion#1 The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell, 1948.

Trixie Belden, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family on a small farm near a town called Sleepyside, is sure that her summer vacation is going to be boring. Her older brothers have gone away to be camp counselors, and she’s stuck helping her mother with chores and watching her little brother.

However, Mr. Frayne, the strange old hermit who lives down the road from Trixie Belden and her family, is suddenly taken ill. Trixie’s father finds him passed out by the side of the road and takes him to the hospital. It doesn’t look like he’s going to survive, and rumor has it that there is a fortune hidden in his big, old, boarded-up mansion.

Then, another girl Trixie’s age moves into a mansion called the Manor House near Trixie’s farm. Her name is Honey Wheeler. Her family is rich, but she has lived a very sheltered life and has not had many friends. She has been unwell recently, and her family is hoping that living in the country will help her to get better. The two girls become friends, and Trixie convinces Honey to come with her to take a look at Mr. Frayne’s mysterious old mansion.

While looking around the property, they meet Jim Frayne, who is Mr. Frayne’s nephew. Jim has run away from his abusive stepfather and is now hiding out in Mr. Frayne’s old house. He had been hoping to find a home with his uncle, but he arrived after his uncle became ill. Jim is next in line to inherit Mr. Frayne’s property if he dies, but his stepfather Jonesy is looking for him and will take control of anything he inherits. Is there really a treasure hidden somewhere in the old house, and if so, can the girls help Jim find it before Jonesy finds him?

This is the first book in the Trixie Belden series.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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The 123 Zoo Mystery

eeezooThe 123 Zoo Mystery by Susan Pearson, 1991.

Ernie’s class at school, Room 123, has some fun class pets. They have a duck, a boa constrictor, a pair of hamsters, a toad, a rabbit, and a worm farm. Mrs. Lettuce, the pet rabbit, is going to have babies soon, and everyone is excited about it.

After a new girl, Hisako, joins the class, strange things begin happening. Someone lets all the pets out of their cages, and some toads appear in the classroom. Ernie wants to figure out what is going on because she’s worried that all the chaos will upset Mrs. Lettuce when she should be resting.

At first, suspicion falls on Hisako, who really likes animals, but Ernie soon realizes that there’s another explanation.  William is the one who finds the clue that Ernie needs to figure out the mystery.  Part of this story is about the lengths that someone would go to for the sake of a friend.

This book is part of the Eagle-Eye Ernie series.

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The Master Puppeteer

masterpuppeteerThe Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson, 1975.

Jiro was born during a terrible time in the history of Osaka, Japan, during the 18th century. Around the time he was born, a plague swept the city, killing his other siblings, making Jiro the only child of Isako and Hanji, the puppet maker. His mother resents him for surviving when her other children didn’t and criticizes him for being clumsy when he tries to help his father make puppets. Now there is famine in Osaka, and Jiro’s family is on the verge of starvation. The only way they can support themselves is by making puppets for Yoshida’s puppet theater, the Hanaza.

The Hanaza has been doing well in spite of everything because the rice merchants are still wealthy enough that they can afford to spend money attending the theater. One day, when Jiro goes with his father to bring a puppet to Yoshida, Yoshida comments that the boy has spirit and offers to take him on as an apprentice at the theater. Hanji does not take the offer seriously, but Jiro does. He knows that he will not be able to help his parents by making puppets, and the people at the theater earn money and have plenty to eat. He joins the theater without telling his parents, introducing himself to the old, blind Okada, who chants the words of the plays.

masterpuppeteerpic1Okada was once Yoshida’s teacher, and he accepts Jiro into the theater. Jiro is fascinated with the world of the theater, studying alongside Yoshida’s son, Kinshi, who becomes his closest friend. However, he must first graduate from apprentice to puppeteer before he can begin earning enough money to support his family, and the news from outside the theater is grim. Word has reached him that his father is ill and his mother is starving. The poor people of Osaka, starving and oppressed by the wealthy merchants and tax collectors, begin rioting.

Saburo, the leader of a gang of bandits, has become a hero to the people, taking food and money from rich people in clever and daring raids and using it to feed some of those who are starving. Kinshi in particular admires Saburo and sets off on his own mission to save the poor people of Osaka. Jiro fears for Kinshi’s safety but does not know who to turn to for help until he finds evidence that seems to point to the true identity of Saburo.

One of the fascinating things about this story is the way the puppets are operated.  Unlike either hand puppets or marionettes, where the operators are never seen, the operators of puppets in Japanese theater are on stage with them.  However, the operators are dressed completely in black with hoods, so the audience will disregard their presence.  Because of the violent episodes in this story, I would recommend it for middle school level.