Drat These Brats!

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-This sequel to Brats (1986) and Fresh Brats (1990, both McElderry) serves up more of the kind of rhyming couplets and irreverent and slightly malicious humor that youngsters just eat up. Drat These Brats introduces 44 mischievous and, well, bratty children. All are up to audacious pranks and often end up in trouble. Small black-and-white pencil drawings illustrate every third or fourth verse and underscore the humor nicely. Because of the often inverted syntax and sophisticated use of language, Kennedy's poems are not quite as accessible as Shel Silverstein's work, and there is a certain sameness about them. For those with a taste for language and wordplay, however, Drat These Brats will be delicious and nourishing fare.-Sue Norris, Rye Free Reading Room, NY