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Nora and the Texas Terror

by Judy Cox
87p. 978-0-82342-283-8.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2-3 Third-grader Nora is both excited and apprehensive when her aunt, uncle, and two cousins come to live with them after her uncle loses his job. She thinks having her extended family could be like a big, fun picnic but sharing a room with her cousin Ellie could be a problem. She's right. The two girls are opposites, and Ellie is messy, plays mean pranks, whines about missing Texas, and constantly tells Nora how much better everything is there. The slight subplots of a haunted house and an ancestor project may not be enough to hold readers' interest, though this easy chapter book does pick up in the final quarter. Cartoon illustrations don't complement the story, which is more serious than humorous. This book would be most useful as bibliotherapy for children whose families are having financial difficulties.-"Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Nora isn't happy to be sharing her bedroom with boisterous cousin Ellie after Ellie's father loses his job and the family moves in with Nora's. Ellie misses her home and dogs but hides it with flashy bravado. A school genealogy project and a crisis in a storm lead the girls to appreciate one another in this satisfying family story.
Judy Cox’s straightforward, realistic plot incorporates the current economic downturn, but is, at its core, an appealing story about family relationships. Nora and her cousin Ellie are opposites, and readers will empathize with Nora as she struggles to share a room and get along with her cousin: “Ellie is a terror. . . . She plays awful jokes. And she brags all the time. Plus, she never stops saying Texas is better. She’s too stubborn to admit when she’s wrong.” The girls’ realization that they have more in common than they thought is gradual and believable. It is satisfying to learn that their mothers had a similar relationship as children, like “sunshine and shadow—you can’t have one without the other. ” Amanda Haley’s lighthearted illustrations provide cheer to the sometimes-serious story line. Teachers will appreciate the inclusion of “Nora’s” instructions for “how to be an ancestor detector” at the end of the book.

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