Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. Ahlberg and McEwen follow up The Cat Who Got Carried Away (2003) with this fourth witty, slightly wacky story about the Gaskitt family. Departing from the predictable, linear plot expected in books for the primary grades, Ahlberg sends his characters off in several directions and zigzags from one to another in telling this amusing and sometimes surprising story. The children attempt to solve the mystery of their teacher's sudden personality change, while their mother chases passengers who leave mysterious packages in her taxi and their father pursues their runaway baby, whose shopping cart has carried him into an improbable adventure. Layout on the double-page spreads varies from a single illustration to several panels to many tiny pictures interspersed with text, but the watercolor-and-crayon artwork always looks fresh, bright, and full of energy. Original and entertaining. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-This fourth book about the Gaskitts is genuinely entertaining. Horace, the family's cat, describes it as "unputdownable," and it is. Several threads occur simultaneously: Dad chases the baby in a runaway stroller; taxi driver mom finds unusual packages left in her cab; and the children try to solve the mystery of their teacher's strange behavior. McEwen's quaint, cartoon illustrations are integrated throughout the chapters and have captions that tell yet additional tales. Teachers will find useful Ahlberg's inclusion of literary devices in addition to the multiple adventures of the Gaskitts. The book has 16 easy-to-read chapters, a glossary, a table of contents, and footnotes referencing events that occurred in the previous adventures-all devices to teach children about intricate and detailed story reading and writing. This is a gem of a book: funny, riveting, absorbing, unputdownable!-Jodi Kearns, University of Akron, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In the third Gaskitt family adventure, Gus and Gloria's teacher develops some troubling characteristics, and Dad chases a runaway shopping cart with baby Gary inside it. The spirited narrative features humor (both sophisticated and slapstick), propulsive action, an attention-grabbing direct address to the reader, and much play with the form of the book--a neat mix of chapter- and picture-book. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
