Big House, TheILLUSTRATED BY Ages: 8-12 Grades: GR. 4-6 Pages: 224 List Price: $16.95 Cover: Hardcover Published: 9/1/2004 ISBN: 1-932425-09-8 ISBN-13: 978-1-932425-09-3 |
When their parents are sent “up the river” for embezzlement, Ray and Ivy are left to live in luxury with Marietta Noland and her husband. But life at the big house is not all it's cracked up to be. A hilarious lark as Ray and Ivy case the joint, get the skinny, and show Marietta she has met her match. Awards
Reviews"In a real departure from her previous novels, Coman has created an enjoyable romp of a mystery.… It's all great fun with lots of matter-of-fact, potboiler detective slang spoken by the children. Shepperson's drawings make the story even more amusing. This farcical, pseudo-Victorian drama of crime and punishment is sure to be a crowd pleaser." "This funny, thoroughly entertaining change of pace for Coman seamlessly blends fantasy and reality in that wonderful way children can, and Shepperson's splendid, Quentin Blake-style further enliven an engaging story of espionage, family loyalty, and justice prevailing." "Cut from the same cloth as Lemony Snicket's Baudelaire orphans, the resourceful siblings try to make the best of their comically gloomy situation. They have races through their cavernous quarters and gather evidence in hopes of freeing their parents and getting Marietta sent "up river" instead. While Ivy is a firm believer in her parents' innocence, it is delightfully clear from her lingo ("We gotta face the music") and her memories of family life that she and Ray have been raised by swindlers. But, in Coman's book, there are worse crimes. illustrations with inviting black-and-white art that reveals the siblings' affection for each other in the face of La Grande Maison's creepiness, this arch gothic mystery shows that being a pillar of society isn't a prerequisite for being a loving parent." |
