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Grant, Vicki. The puppet wrangler.


GRANT, Vicki. The puppet wrangler wran·gler  
n.
1. One who wrangles or quarrels.

2. A cowboy or cowgirl, especially one who tends saddle horses.

Noun 1.
, Orca. 212p. c2004. 1-55143-304-4. $7.95. J*

Twelve-year-old Telly is quiet and tries to be unobtrusive, in contrast to her older sister Bess for whom trouble is a way of life. When Bess' antics veer way out of control, Telly gets shipped away for a month from her small town in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia (nō`və skō`shə) [Lat.,=new Scotland], province (2001 pop. 908,007), 21,425 sq mi (55,491 sq km), E Canada. Geography
 to Toronto, where her Aunt Kathleen is the producer of a children's television puppet show. At first, Telly is terrified ter·ri·fy  
tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies
1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten.

2. To menace or threaten; intimidate.
 of Aunt Kathleen, but she soon finds herself at home at the studio. Zola, the show's puppet wrangler, takes Telly under her wing and the rest of the adults seem friendly as well. For once, Telly can relax and be herself without worrying about Bess wreaking havoc around her. Even better, she has a secret all to herself: Bitsie, the puppet "star" of the show, is alive. While this is very cool on many levels, Telly soon learns that having a friend like Bitsie can be a challenge on the magnitude of her sister Bess.

Grant's debut novel sparkles with humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was ; Telly's first-person narrative
See also: First person

First-person narrative is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one character, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, using words and phrases involving "I" and "we".
 is deliciously low key and understated to the point of being laugh-out-loud funny. Grant also uses footnotes with additional commentary throughout. Bitsie's antics cross the line to the outrageous, but Telly meets the challenge, and her personality develops naturally and convincingly in response. Any reader who has ever felt as if s/he lives in a sibling's shadow will identify with Telly immediately and cheer her on with great enthusiasm.

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

*--The asterisk (1) See Asterisk PBX.

(2) In programming, the asterisk or "star" symbol (*) means multiplication. For example, 10 * 7 means 10 multiplied by 7. The * is also a key on computer keypads for entering expressions using multiplication.
 highlights exceptional books.

Donna Scanlon, Libn., County Lib., Lancaster, PA
COPYRIGHT 2004 Kliatt
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Author:Scanlon, Donna
Publication:Kliatt
Article Type:Book Review
Date:Sep 1, 2004
Words:282
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