Horrible Harry and the Mud Gremlins

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with HORRIBLE HARRY'S SECRET.]--Johnny Heller convincingly slips inside Kline's wonderful cast of third-grade characters. In HORRIBLE HARRY'S SECRET, Harry's best friend, Doug, is slightly sickened by Harry's crush on classmate Song Lee, whom Harry showers with attention, notes, and gifts. In THE MUD GREMLINS, Harry worries Doug by persuading others to break school rules to examine mushrooms growing five yards off school property. Heller's energetic, boyish voice treasures the wonderful details in Kline's writing that make her depictions of school life so realistic. In Heller's voice we hear the disgust Doug feels over Harry's crush and his concern about breaking school rules. Heller relishes what he reads, and his delight in the stories is quite contagious. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine