The Straight Line Wonder
Grade 1-3?This disappointing offering from Australia has a '50s look and a very pointed moral. Three lines are the best of friends. On a whim, one of them starts "jumping in humps, twirling in whirls, pointing his joints," and "creeping in heaps," much to the mortification of the other two straight-arrows. One day, a famous film director discovers the expressive line and makes him a star. That's it folks. The repetition is monotonous and there are no surprises. The India ink and dark watercolor cartoons are lively, but cannot salvage this tired story line. There are so many other picture books about the value of being true to oneself that this one is unnecessary.?Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, MECopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.