Book Summary
This very humorous book, the second in
the series, features three main characters: Katie, Jasper, and Lily. Katie and
Jasper both star in their own adventure book series based on strange and wacky
adventures that they have in real life. Lily doesn’t have a series, but she
still joins Katie and Jasper in the exciting adventures, even though she is
quite shy sometimes. This story starts off with Katie’s mother’s hand being cut
off by a rotating band saw. After Jasper starts scrambling to help Katie’s
mother, it is revealed that it was just a joke to break the children’s summer
boredom. But Katie is not at all amused—she is quite irritated with all of the
disgusting pranks she has to witness to keep the excitement going before the
other adventures begin. In fact, Katie desperately wants a break from all of
the action and adventure, so she, Jasper, and Lily decide to take a week-long
vacation at the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort. It turns out a lot of other
child heroes are also staying at the hotel. Katie, Jasper, and Lily also
quickly realize it won’t be so easy to get the escape from excitement that they
had wanted: the Hooper Quints, another group of child heroes with a badly-written
book series, go missing, and people at the hotel are called to help. Jasper and
Lily willingly join the search parties to find the Quints, but Katie absolutely
refuses. Instead she stays behind at the hotel to read by the poolside and
enjoy her vacation while making friends with the Cutesy Dell Twins. Jasper and
Lily go out to search for the Quints, coming across their own unique, and
sometimes troubling, adventures, and eventually Katie can’t help but get
dragged into the mystery as well. Luckily, the friends come together in the end
to do what they do best and solve the mystery as a team—discovering that the
Quints faked their own kidnapping to stage a big comeback where they would
pretend to escape their kidnapper.
APA Reference of Book
Anderson, M. T. (2006). The clue of the linoleum lederhosen. Orlando,
FL: Harcourt Books.
Impressions
M. T.
Anderson’s book was so lighthearted and enjoyable—I was surprised at how much I
liked this book! I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story based on the
strange title, but I decided to try it out. It is funny and quirky from
beginning to end, from the ridiculously stupid and immature Manley Boys to the
annoying but endearing Professor Schmeltzer who uses screeching echolocation in
order to see. This book seems to first and foremost take on a humorous style
within a mix of mystery and science fiction elements. The humor is cheesy and
dry in a self-deprecating sort of way, but still extremely funny. The
situations are outrageous and silly and not at all realistic, but they are at the
same time creative and entertaining. These situations would also very likely
capture and hold the attention of a juvenile audience, who I think could be
rolling on the floor laughing with this book. The author, M. T. Anderson, talks
directly to the reader occasionally, which works well in this case, and it
makes me feel like Anderson is telling the story directly to me. It feels more
intimate, like I am in on the inside joke.
I also liked
the illustrations that are sprinkled throughout this story and the use of large
and exaggerated font here and there—it matched the tone of the story and
emphasized the silly nature of it all. For instance, there is an illustration
on page 118 that shows an advertisement for an “Aggravated Hay-Fever Play Set
with Antibody Action Figures! Bloodstream play mat sold separately” (Anderson,
2006, p. 118) to add humor to Jasper’s snot problem caused by his allergies.
Plus, there are appendices at the end with examples and artifacts from the
stories, like Appendix B, which is the “Official Complaint Form and Stationary
for the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort (Anderson, 2006). These sorts of
illustrated examples help bring this wacky, make-believe world to life.
What makes me
invested in this story, however, are not the outrageous situations, but the characters.
The main characters live in a make-believe world, but they are still
interesting and their relationships are believable. I actually cared about
these characters. I was interested in the fate of Jasper when he faces a life-threatening
build-up of snot, I wanted to know whether Katie would come back to the world
of crime fighting again, and I wanted to know if the three friends would be
able to solve the mystery together. Plus, I am grabbed by the somewhat
emotional sentiment at the end when Katie and Lily realize that book heroes do
not get older as long as people read their books, which means Lily may grow
older while Katie and Jasper will stay the same age if people are still reading
their series. Overall, I enjoyed reading about the relationships between these
friends, watching them separate and then come together again at the end to
solve the mystery. And all the while I was extremely entertained by the
ridiculous and surprising events that happened throughout. I kept thinking, What could POSSIBLY happen next? You
won’t be able to guess.
Professional Review
According to
Elaine Knight (2006) in a review for School
Library Journal:
The intrepid detectives from Whales on Stilts! (Harcourt, 2005) return in another off-the-wall
send-up of the Stratemeyer-style series fiction. Jasper, Katie, and Lily are
off to the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort for a short vacation. They discover
that the inn is currently hosting a collection of other series characters,
including the air-headed Cutesy Dell Twins (shades of Sweet Valley High); the
blockheaded Manley Boys; and sad, one-book Eddie Wax, in perpetual mourning for
his horse Stumpy. The mystery-solving Hooper Quints go missing, as do most of
the lodge’s hunting trophies and an heirloom diamond necklace belonging to one
of the guests. Search parties are organized, and Jasper and Lily are keen to
join in. Katie, however, prefers to hang out by the pool with the Twins.
Unexpected dangers await the searchers, from gun-toting kidnappers to poisonous
snakes to hungry wolves. Meanwhile, back at the Lodge….The episodic and
determinedly nonlinear plot is amusing, but the real fun here is the dialogue–a
wild and wonderful mélange of 1950s series-speak (“Jupiter’s moons!”), Valley
speak, adolescent trash talk, and mock heroics. As in Lemony Snicket’s
“Unfortunate Events” series (HarperCollins), the author frequently addresses
readers directly with suggestions, hints, and comments. Underneath all the
craziness, there is a subtle and surprisingly poignant message about growth,
change, and friendship. (para. 1)
Library
Uses
The
Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen could be
utilized in a library setting for a book talk to upper elementary or middle school
students. I think this book would easily lend itself to an interesting and
attention-grabbing book talk because the plot is so unique and funny. A
librarian could highlight this book’s sense of humor and sense of adventure to
get reluctant readers interested in reading. The librarian could read an
excerpt from the book as well (like Jasper Dash’s near-death experience with
snot, which is goofy and funny). This book could also be used in a book display
presented during a science fiction genre celebration night at the library
during which science fiction books are featured and science fiction movies are
shown.
References
Knight, E. E. (2006, June 1). Fiction [Review of the book The clue of the linoleum
lederhosen, by
M. T. Anderson]. School Library Journal. Retrieved
from
www.schoollibraryjournal.com
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