The Mount Rushmore Calamity

August 1, 2009
Gr 2-4-Capitalizing on the extremely popular (and more than 40-year-old) character created by Jeff Brown, Pennypacker's new travel-themed series features the same tongue-in-cheek humor and earnest, goody-two-shoes sensibility of the original. Here, the flattened-by-a-bulletin-board boy and the rest of the Lambchop family go on vacation to Mount Rushmore, where Stanley and his brother share an adventure with a young gold miner named Calamity Jasper. Stanley's unique abilities allow him to shine as a hero, causing some friction with Arthur, but in the end, they work together to save the day. Readers will find authenticity and humor in the siblings' rivalry, and Calamity Jasper, with her over-the-top Western dialogue, is a perfect slapstick foil to the boys. As an added bonus, interesting historical and geographical information is included in the story and related facts are appended. Though the modernized, cartoon pencil sketches are not as delightfully ridiculous as the artwork in the original series, they integrate well with the plot. Educational and fun, this action-filled tale makes a great choice for early-chapter-book collections; it will surely cause a resurgence of interest in the original series, as well as a desire to read the subsequent installations in the reboot."Nicole Waskie, Chenango Forks Elementary, Binghamton, NY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2009
Grades 2-4 Flat Stanley first came on the scene 45 years ago when he was squished by a giant bulletin board. Now, in the geography-themed Worldwide Adventures series, beginning readers canfollow Stanley and theLambchop family on the go. First up, a trip to Mount Rushmore. Sibling rivalry is a theme here; when a crack opens across Lincolns face, Stanleymanages tohold the mountain together, much to the jealous dismay of his brother. Then the boys meet up with Calamity, a cowgirl who takes them hunting for gold, and the brothers mustwork together to save their new friend from a cave-in. While this draws on many elements of the original, it is a little, well, flat. The incident of the crack doesnt make much sense, and the integration of information about the Black Hills area is clunky. (A few paragraphs of facts appear at the books conclusion.) Still, the glossy cover will draw readers (the inside art is appealing, too), and Stans fans will probably like him in all his permutations. Book Two is The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
Written by Sara Pennypacker. These brief chapter books find our hero using his state of flatness to rescue his friend from a rockslide at Mount Rushmore and to foil tomb raiders in Egypt. With their breezy "Oh, golly" tone and broad humor (also apparent in the black-and white cartoons) deftly mimicking the originals, these geography-themed books will likely be popular with kids and social studies teachers.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)