FICTION

Lulu's Mysterious Mission

by Judith VIORST
illus. by Kevin Cornell. 192p. S & S/Atheneum. Apr. 2014. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9781442497467; ebk. $10.99. ISBN 9781442497481. LC 2013004350.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2–4—Spoiled little Lulu is back in a third book to tackle a new challenge: a babysitter. Despite Lulu's objection that "babysitters sit babies, and I'm no baby," her parents head off on vacation, leaving her in the care of the intimidating Ms. Solinsky. The little girl does her devious best to get rid of Ms. Solinsky, even preying on her one weakness, a cat allergy, but the babysitter always seems to be one step ahead of Lulu. When she discovers her babysitter's spy training, an intrigued Lulu offers her best behavior in exchange for a little covert training of her own, culminating in an "MM" or "Mysterious Mission." Over-the-top action and the narrator's dry voice balance out a slightly strained plot. Kevin Cornell steps in as illustrator, replacing Lane Smith, who only did this book's cover. Lulu now looks a little more like a regular girl, with a rounder nose and sneakers, but in the wide variety of diabolical facial expressions she wears, readers will recognize the same troublemaker they have come to know and love. Lulu's fans will be happy to read her next (mis)adventure.—Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT
When her parents go on vacation without her, Lulu's efforts to oust her babysitter are vigorous. But she meets her match in Sonia Sofia Solinsky, who reveals she's a spy and spy trainer. Farce, slapstick, tall tale; punctuated with authorial asides and leavened with scads of white space and the many energetic sweeps of Cornell's comic illustrations--this is a book to tickle emerging readers.
Lulu may not be the "serious pain in the butt that she used to be" (Lulu and the Brontosaurus, rev. 11/10; Lulu Walks the Dogs, rev. 9/12), but she's still not easy "when she didn't get her way." When her parents go on vacation without her, her efforts to oust her babysitter are vigorous, but she meets her match in Sonia Sofia Solinsky. Awesomely tall and spikily angular in Cornell's brash cartoons, Ms. Solinsky thwarts the round-faced, wide- and loud-mouthed Lulu's every scheme, eventually revealing that she is a spy and a trainer of spies. Astute readers may wonder: is Ms. Solinsky truly a spy? No matter; craving her tutelage, Lulu is hooked into behaving with uncommon decorum, at least for the duration, though she retains plenty of panache. Farce, slapstick, tall tale; punctuated with authorial asides, leavened with scads of white space and the many energetic sweeps of Cornell's comic illustrations -- a tad more light-hearted than previous illustrator Lane Smith's -- this is a book to tickle younger listeners as well as emerging readers. joanna rudge long
Reviewed by Marian McLeod , Mar 01, 2014

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