School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-- Marshall's Cut-Ups are back in a capricious comedy. The never cautious boys, Spud and Joe, are playing car crash with crates when two classmates, Charles Andrew and Mary Frances, come sneering by. Joe makes up a real car to brag about, which leads to the accidental borrowing of Principal Lamar J. Spurgle's new sports convertible and a hair-raising tour of the town while Spud frantically tries to find the brakes. The brakes are found, the car snatched by the sneering classmates, the Board of Education threatens to confiscate the vehicle, the Cut-Ups almost confess, but all ends happily--just another average day for those wild and crazy boys. Although the hypervigilant might fuss about the boys stealing a car, it is clearly not their intention nor is the ride fun for them--only for the readers who will delight in the predicament. Marshall's bold pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons continue to splash across the pages with sheer silliness. Cut-Up fans won't be disappointed with this fifth caper and the uninitiated are sure to appreciate the fun. --Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.