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Overview
An unseen man they call the Toad is stalking twelve-year-old Kevin and his older sister, Holly. They flee town in Holly's beat-up old car, driving west until they reach the Pacific Ocean. They change their names and attempt to hide in plain sight as street performers in Venice, California. But have they really eluded the Toad? Here is Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman doing what he does best — spinning a tale with style.
After their archaeologist mother fails to return from Mexico and they discover that someone is stalking their Albuquerque house, twelve-year-old Kevin and his opera-singing older sister flee to Venice, California, where they hope that new identities will keep them safe.
Synopsis
An unseen man they call the Toad is stalking twelve-year-old Kevin and his older sister, Holly. They flee town in Holly's beat-up old car, driving west until they reach the Pacific Ocean. They change their names and attempt to hide in plain sight as street performers in Venice, California. But have they really eluded the Toad? Here is Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman doing what he does best — spinning a tale with style.
Publishers Weekly
A 12-year-old and his aspiring opera singer sister flee from a stalker. They don't know what he wants, but perhaps it has something to do with their missing mother. "Fleischman again unleashes his literary slight-of-hand, dispensing laughs and a lickety-split plot," according to PW. Ages 8-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
A 12-year-old and his aspiring opera singer sister flee from a stalker. They don't know what he wants, but perhaps it has something to do with their missing mother. "Fleischman again unleashes his literary slight-of-hand, dispensing laughs and a lickety-split plot," according to PW. Ages 8-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.VOYA
Despite the complaint that it starts the reader with little background information about their predicament, Fleischman's wacky story of a brother and sister who invent new lives in order to escape a stalker would be an exciting-and at times, absolutely hilarious-book for almost any middle school student. A quick read, it takes an interesting look at the triumph of two runaway kids on their own in the crazy world that is California. PLB— Alison Daniels, Teen Reviewer <%ISBN%>0060519622
Children's Literature
Twelve-year-old Kevin Kidd (alias Pepe Gomez) and his big sister Holly (alias Chickadee Gomez) are on the lam. After the disappearance of their archeologist mom in Mexico, their Albuquerque home has been burglarized and a mysterious man seems to be stalking them. They wash up on the beach in Venice, California, and cheerfully set about creating new lives. The bohemian milieu is good to them. Holly/Chickadee sings opera and Kevin/Pepe learns how to be a "hat man," a slightly more successful enterprise than his attempts at fortune telling. Life is getting better all the time until the stalker reappears and threatens to put a crimp in their futures. Newbery Medalist Fleischman has a good hand for breezy storytelling. Here, he is obviously enjoying painting the carny atmosphere of Venice and its living-by-their-wits occupants. "Toad," the stalker, may be in the background, but he doesn't put a crimp on Kevin's natural common sense any more than does the local gang of delinquents he sweetly turns around. The book is a good read, and a fast one, too—filled with Fleischman's signature humor and occasional sly wit. 2003, Greenwillow,— Kathleen Karr
KLIATT
KLIATT has reviewed this in hardcover in March 2003 and also in audiobook (in this issue). To quote the hardcover review: This is for the youngest of YAs, and is a charming story of life on the boardwalk of Venice, California. Fleischman has dreamed up a wild story of a brother and sister on the run from a stalker, a man in a white suit...Their mother is an archaeologist who has disappeared and is believed to be dead; and the stalker is probably someone who knows the mother's work and thinks there is some information her children have in their possession that would make him rich... This is a funny romp, not to be taken seriously in any way, with wild coincidences and characters with crazy names. Holly and Kevin are remarkably capable young people who use their resources to defend themselves, make friends, and at the end, fulfill their dreams. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2003, HarperCollins, 132p., Ages 12 to 15.—Claire Rosser