Freddie Mole

May 1, 2018

Gr 2-5-Freddie Mole is a 10-year-old boy eager to support his parents as they struggle to make ends meet. Through happenstance, he lands a job cleaning at the local circus. Little does he know that the circus will provide much more than income: he makes new friends, learns how to work the trapeze, and even meets a few lions. Freddie is a highly lovable character who demonstrates compassion, courage, and grit. His story is wonderfully complemented by Hindley's cartoonish illustrations that grace nearly every page. The circus makes for a perfect illustrative backdrop: lush costumes and bold patterns plunge readers directly into scene. In addition to the clear and direct narrative, McCall Smith inserts unusual verbs and adjectives that will challenge and sharpen comprehension skills. VERDICT Fast-paced and engaging, this is sure to delight either as a read-aloud with an adult or as a selection for strong independent readers.-Katherine Hickey, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
A boy is tossed from the frying pan into the lion's cage.Freddie Mole, a "kind boy" who "lived quite a few years ago," wants to get a job to help his impoverished family. Fortunately for the well-liked Freddie, his pals often treat him on outings, so when a friend invites him to the circus, Freddie can't resist. To his surprise and delight, the circus needs a new assistant, and he's hired on the spot. At the end of his first day, after Freddie's swept the big top and helped the cook with the washing up, the ringmaster belatedly informs Freddie that he's also the circus' sole understudy. First he learns the trapeze, which is scary enough but made scarier when the hilariously incompetent aerialists almost forget the net. However, Freddie does such a wonderful job, he's assigned to understudy the lion tamer (this was back "when circuses still had lions"). When the tamer runs off to Peru "or somewhere like that," it's up to Freddie to save the show. Will he succeed? Or will the ferocious beasts be his end? The unidentified narrator's direct address forges an emotional connection between readers and Freddie. Cozy Briticisms and the curly black-and-white line art reinforce the story's "once upon a time" feel. The cast is evidently all white.Possessing an earnest ridiculousness similar to that of a Dahl story, Freddie's adventure should appeal to a similar audience. (Humor. 7-12)

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May 1, 2018
Grades 2-4 A solid work ethic and good manners prove tickets to happiness in this genial tale of a boy who joins the circus. Freddie Mole's family is so hard up that he only gets one clean sock at a time, so when he hears of an opening at a small circus, he eagerly applies. He soon discovers that his job entails not only clearing the grandstand seats of rubbish but also serving as understudy for the trapeze artists and, gulp, the lion tamer (Smith explains that this story takes place back when circuses still had lions). Being, as the author writes, a kind boy who everybody liked, Freddie is welcomed by all. And, having discovered that though lions might seem ferocious when in the ring, they're actually big, toothless pussycats, he's up to the challenge when, one night, the lion tamer goes AWOL. Most of the figures in Hindley's frequent pen-and-ink drawings sport stylish quiffs, but Freddie's is the tallest and curliest of all. He's definitely destined for a bright future under the big top.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)