Leon and the Spitting Image

Leon and the Spitting Image is about a hotel full of animals. It's about an evil ice maker. It's about glass eyeballs and human catapults. It's about really old panty hose and Possibly Fake Hair.

But mostly it's about Leon Zeisel and his epic quest to survive fourth grade. What's stopping him? Two things. First, there's Miss Hagmeyer. She's a supernaturally strict teacher with ears that resemble giant rotting mushrooms. And then there is Leon's archenemy, Lumpkin the Pumpkin, a human tank with a deadly dodgeball throw known to all as the sidewinder.

Luckily, Leon has two friends, Lily-Matisse and P.W., who will stand by him no matter what- even if his magical, mysterious plans for rescue and revenge involve . . . SPIT!

Publishers Weekly

Linn-Baker effortlessly inhabits the character of Leon Zeisel, a beleaguered fourth-grader with troubles at school that are larger (and weirder) than most kids'. As the first day of school approaches, Leon already feels a sense of defeat. He has peeked into his mother's papers and surreptitiously read a confidential file about his school performance to this point. Teachers' evaluations from the Classical School label him "clumsy" and "delayed," especially when it comes to demonstrating fine motor skills. That doesn't bode well when his fourth grade teacher turns out to be a strict and strange woman with a Velcroed-on wig, super-human hearing and a lesson plan that includes sewing a menagerie of stuffed animals throughout the year. As the school year and Leon's sewing ability progress, however, he finds a magical key to making his life a whole lot easier. Listeners will quickly be hooked by the goofy character traits and mysterious plot elements here, delivered in Linn-Baker's crisp, accomplished style. He consistently sounds chipper or downtrodden as the situation demands. As the title may suggest, kids will also delight in the fact that Leon's eventual triumph involves a good amount of spit. Ages 8-up. (Oct. 2003). Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Allen Kurzweil is the prize-winning author of two novels for adults—A Case of Curiosities and The Grand Complication—and two works of fiction for children—Leon and the Spitting Image and Leon and the Champion Chip. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, including fellowships from the Guggenheim and Fulbright Foundations and the New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers, Kurzweil is currently a fellow at the John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization at Brown University. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife and son.