The International Polly McDoodle. Mary Woodbury. Regina, SK: Coteau Books, 2004. 169 pp., pbk., $8.95. ISBN 1-55050-293-X. Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12. Review by Michelle Warry. **½ /4

excerpt:

Polly walked over to the window and watched the muddy Arno flowing past. "I'm not sure I want to investigate a crime. I'm on tour in Italy. I'm seeing all sorts of art and meeting new people, seeing new places. Maybe we should just let things happen for a change."

"Polly, you can't just let things happen." [said Kyle]

"Why not?"

"It's because you can't draw people, isn't it? You're depressed because you've got artist's block. The Usually Bold and Brave Polly McDoodle is trembling in her boots in front of the wonderful paintings from the past."

"I am not."

"I know a mini-collapse when I see one. You don't know how good an artist you can be in the future if you don't keep drawing. What if I stopped playing piano because I wasn't Jamie Parker or Diana Krall?"

"You don't play jazz or heavy classical stuff."

"That's not the point. The point is we're a partnership, a detective business, and we've got a job to do. Just because nothing of ours has been taken or we aren't being blamed doesn't make the robberies any less bad."

This year's Spring Break is a big deal for Polly McDougall. She's joining her classmates from Kirby Junior High and friends Isabel and Kyle on a tour of Italy. But it's not all excitement: she's facing artist's block, and she has a detective case to solve. The fifth book in Mary Woodbury's popular series, The International Polly McDoodle begins as Polly's plane prepares to land at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. From that moment, readers journey along with Polly on (almost) every step of her trip through Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice, Pompeii, and more. Intriguing tensions and relationships are revealed within the large group of Grade Sevens, Eights, Nines, and their chaperones. Tensions mount when more and more students notice their possessions missing. Polly and Kyle feel obligated to catch the thief. Nervous tension also builds within Polly as she becomes more and more intimidated by the great Italian masters. She becomes unable to sketch, or even doodle, anything but inanimate objects. Adding to the suspense, Polly and Kyle are present at the Uffizi Gallery during the most recent incident in a string of major art thefts. An exciting climax brings a gratifying end to this easy-to-read yet intricately woven double mystery.

     Since Woodbury's original The Invisible Polly McDoodle, loveable Polly has remained herself as well as growing and changing. The newest McDoodle offering engagingly portrays a young pre-adolescent girl dealing with developmentally appropriate issues such as budding empathetic understanding of others, early romantic stirrings, and a new awareness of the need to balance beauty and style with other personal interests. Throughout all this, she remains her fun yet fascinatingly inwardly-searching self. Secondary characters, such as Kyle and Isobel, also stay true to themselves while simultaneously revealing interesting new facets of their personalities.

     One of the most appealing aspects of The International Polly McDoodle is its seamless inclusion of factual information about art and Italy. Aside from being a gentle, competent mystery, this book provides the special excitement and intrigue of a well-written junior travelogue. Descriptions are left general enough so as not to overwhelm young readers while, at the same time, conveying an accurate and wonderful sense of beautiful Italy. Many young readers will love the feeling of journeying through this ancient culture with Polly. This is an entertaining, satisfying book all-round: great characters, great plot, great mystery, and fantastic setting.

Recommended.

Michelle Warry is a graduate student in UBC's Master of Arts in Children's Literature program.

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

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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