The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy
Gr 3-5–When their parents go out of town, 10-year-old fraternal twins Casey and Lacey Nicefolk decide to use their magical black box to turn a toy model boat into a functioning powerboat and enter the Gold Cup Grand National Race up the Sacramento River. What follows is a series of mini adventures for the siblings and their dog, including kidnapping by the bad guys from The Adventures of Vin Fiz (Philomel, 2006) and the actual race itself, which comprises nearly half the book. Written in a style reminiscent of an old-fashioned dime novel, the book has no character development and a lot of telling rather than showing. The writing is stilted, and the story lacks excitement or purpose.Jessica Marie, Renton Public Library, WA© Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.