Maggie's Whopper - Hardcover

Alexander, Jim

3.4

5 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027002012 ISBN 13: 9780027002010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1992

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While fishing with her Great-uncle Ezra, seven-year-old Maggie sacrifices her prize catch to save her uncle from a hungry bear

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-2-- Maggie is a seven-year-old spending time with her Great-uncle Ezra at a lake cottage. Her great hope is to catch a fish, a real whopper, to show her older brother. Early in the story, the girl and her uncle have a runin with an old bear when it claws open a screen to get a blueberry pie. Later, when Ezra is caught off guard by the hungry animal, Maggie's quick thinking saves the day. The story is well plotted with foreshadowing of events and credible action. As an adventure though, the writing lacks tension. Where it does succeed is in depicting the affection between the child and the old man. They enjoy one another's company whether fishing, playing checkers, or taking a moonlit hike. Ray's sketchy, soft-focused watercolor and colored-pencil drawings add to this gentle and intimate tone. They don't, however, generate much excitement or a sense of danger. Old Thatch appears rather lumpen in one picture and no more threatening than a quizzical teddy bear in another. Still, for a plausible scenario and a likable heroine, it's a winner, if not a whopper. --Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Maggie, seven, who enjoys fishing with Great-uncle Ezra, hopes to outdo her older brother by catching a real ``whopper.'' Meanwhile, despite her uncle's reassurance, she worries about meeting old Thatch, a bear they've sometimes sighted near their pond. Uncle Ezra suggests that the bear is ``an old man...like me'' and may even have died, but Thatch turns up in full vigor, breaking through a screen to steal a pie. Later, Maggie catches her whopper just as Thatch reappears, looking none too friendly. Uncle Ezra is visibly afraid, but Maggie manages to divert the bear by throwing him the fish. Several themes are introduced here--Uncle Ezra's frailty, coexistence with the bear, Maggie's rivalry with her offstage brother--but none is really developed; instead, Maggie gets her heroic moment. Still, a warmhearted vignette, attractively reflected in Ray's glowing generalized illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright �1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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