Missing Matthew. Kristyn Dunnion. Calgary, AB: Red Deer Press, 2003. 108 pp., pbk., $12.95. ISBN 0-88995-278-7. Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12. Review by Mary Thomas. *** /4

excerpt:

I lean on the edge of Grandma's chair so I can get a better angle on the monster Supper Sandwich. If I hold it just right, it blocks out Billybob's face. The bun is buttered and smothered in mustard, seasoned with salt and pepper, lovingly garnished with lettuce and homemade dillpickles, and packed with a big spoonful of leftovers. Squash, I think. I savor the unique blend of sandwich flavors and textures, and catch a runaway mustard drip before it stains my pants.

The newscaster interrupts our family time with a jolt.

"And on the local front, authorities continue the search for ten year old Matthew Stein, who has been missing for over seventy two hours. There are no leads as of yet. Police are enforcing a county wide curfew for all minors under the age of sixteen."

Our mother blinks, awake and alert, and asks for a TV update. Grandma starts giving one, but she didn't really get it since she can't hear, so our dad corrects it. Now there's three of them talking at once, trying to figure out the story, and my stomach goes into a knot.

"That's the new boy in Freddie's class," says Jelly.

"Oh," says Grandma, "in Winifred's class."

Everyone stops talking. I look at the school photo of Matthew on TV.

Matthew is another of these anti heros who practically invite bullying, is bullied, and then... disappears, presumably kidnaped, leaving behind the ratty pink knitted scarf that is both his trademark and the object of torment picked on by his tormenters. It's a trendy start bullying is In this year in kiddie lit but, in fact, this story is less about Matthew than about the dynamics of peer relationships within the pre teen crowd.

     Winnifred (Freddie), her younger sister Jelly and her friend Weasel, who is a year older than Freddie and Bossy with a capital B, have formed a Rebel Rescue Squad, organized by Weasel, that has them skulking behind bushes, holding secret meetings in the Giant Pine Tree, etc., and, in the course of one of their games, they find Matthew hiding out in one of their super secret spots but with not a kidnapper in sight. By the time Matthew’s troubles have been somewhat sorted out and he has returned to his father, Weasel is no longer the undisputed leader of the Squad; Jelly has come into her own as an equal partner in adventure; Freddie has successfully asserted her authority when she felt seriously that it behooved her to do so; and Matthew is a member of the group.

     Why did Matthew disappear? Well, that gets into another rather trendy topic, namely death and grieving. Matthew's mum has died. He knows it, but he won't admit it; his father acknowledges it all too deeply, but can't face it. One of the best bits of the book is the juxtaposed but not laboured comparison of a professional counselor with whom the children in Matthew's class are supposed to discuss their "fee e e elings" (and incidentally whether or not they wet the bed), and the actual, useful, and sensitive help given Matthew and his father by friends who have some connection with and caring for their loss.

     I admit to being somewhat of a language snob, and a whole book written in the vernacular of a not very literate 10 year old tends to set my teeth on edge. The device, however, does add immediacy to the presentation, and I very much fear that the succession of simple sentences and four line paragraphs won't bother its intended audience one little bit. I regret this, but it is a fact. They will be amused by Freddie, sympathetic to her various dilemmas, and pleased that she emerges as a force to be reckoned with within her group.

Recommended.

Mary Thomas works in two elementary school libraries in Winnipeg, MB, and does not guarantee that she knows whether or not her clientele will go for any particular book, including this one.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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