Sticky Stuff. (Solo Reading). Kate Walker. Illustrated by Craig Smith. Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2003. 51 pp., pbk., $4.50. ISBN 0-439-97441-0. Subject Headings: Bubble gum-Juvenile fiction. Problem solving-Juvenile fiction. Grades 1-3 / Ages 6-8. Review by Gillian Martin Noonan. *** /4

excerpt:

Sophie ran to the corner. She wriggled under the fence. She sprinted toward her classroom, and suddenly... Zingggggggg! Back she came soaring through the air like a bungee jumper! Like a plane doing loop the loops! Like a fly zapped by a lizard's tongue! Splat! She landed back at the fence. Sophie was stuck yet again with chewing gum. This time it was the very worst gum in the whole world. It was long, pink, stringy gum that looked like hundreds of spaghetti strands!

Chewing gum creates numerous humourous situations for Sophie to escape from in Sticky Stuff. It's just another day as Sophie sets out for school when her feet get stuck in horrible yellow chewy gum. What to do? Stocking-footed Sophie travels on until she decides barefooted would be better. She sits down only to stick to globby green bubble gum. What to do? Minus her backpack, she travels on only to be caught again, and this time it is not only Sophie who gets trapped by sticky stuff, but everyone who comes to her rescue. No challenge is too great for Sophie who knows how to solve each sticky situation even if it means leaving the parents stuck to the school gate because it is time to go home.

     As a chapter book for newly independent readers, Sticky Stuff is a fun story filled with lots of interesting descriptive language put together with a rhythmic flow. The gum is never just gum; it was "horrible," "globby," "a monster patch." Sophie didn't just wiggle to get free; she struggles, squirmed but she stuck "...like a lid on a paint can! Like an elephant in a vacuum cleaner!"

      Smith's black and white pen and ink illustrations capture the humour and cleverness of the spunky heroine.

     An interesting feature of this book are the author's and illustrator's biographical notes. Kate Walker tells readers how the she was inspired to write this story after she tried SuperGlue to fix a broken cup, and Craig Smith relates how he felt about his childhood and how that connects to his favorite part of the story.

     For young readers just ready for chapter books, Sticky Stuff is a wonderful bridge between a picture storybook and a novel. Each chapter relates an episode of Sophie's journey to school in a lively way which reveals Sophie's quick thinking and wry sense of humour. An enjoyable and entertaining read.

Recommended.

Gillian Martin Noonan in teacher living in Old Perlican, NL.

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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