Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts

February 15, 2017
Natural disasters, aggressive wildlife, parental abandonment, responsibility for a baby, and looming poverty make life on a tropical island less enjoyable than one might imagine. The siblings met in Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts (2016) are back, and this time they're in search of a home, as they have outgrown the car they sleep in. Ranging in age from infant to 11, Penny, Toby, Pippa, Kimo, and Kim have "varying degrees of brown hair and brown skin" and are related via five different mothers and fathers, none of whom is reliable and all of whom have left the resourceful children soured on adults. An encounter with a mysterious stranger in a dark forest eventually leads to the discovery that one of the fathers is even more dastardly than they had realized, and it is up to the children to save the day--and their island home--from ecological destruction. The unnamed tropical island they inhabit seems modeled on Hawaii in its flora, geographical features, residents' fondness for ham, and local speech (a pseudo-pidgin described dismissively), but it is a bland and characterless rendition of the original. With the exception of Smith's delightful pen-and-ink illustrations, the book does not quite pull off its attempt at a wry and whimsical tone: the children's lives seem more like drudgery than adventure, their personalities are two-dimensional, and the world they live in is neither fantastical enough to inspire delightful escape nor realistic enough to evoke deep immersion in the story. A miss. (Fiction. 8-12)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-In this sequel to Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts, Kim, Kimo, Pippa, Toby, and new baby sister Penny, along with their patient goldfish, are kicked out of the house when Kimo's wayward father, Johnny Trout, returns from years at sea and reclaims the home for himself and his unpleasant pet pig. Once again, "find a house" tops Kim's daily list. In the search for a home, the children gain, lose, and then regain a boat that Johnny and a mysterious friend are using for nefarious purposes. The siblings help their laundromat owner friend, Mr. Knuckles, find love, and they discover the reason their beloved island suffers from "knockabouts" (earthquakes). Much like the Boxcar Children or the Baudelaire orphans, the Fitzgerald-Trouts carry on, regardless of the horrible, indifferent, or horribly indifferent adults they encounter. Spunk, spirit, and ingenuity only begin to describe these fascinating children. Upper elementary and lower middle school readers will connect with determined Kim, strong Kimo, and stubborn Pippa. Toby has just started to come into his own, and who can resist sweet baby Penny?

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
Grades 3-6 Siblings Kim, Kimo, Toby, Pippa, and baby Penny are once again looking for a home after Kimo's father, Johnny Trout, returns and heartlessly takes back the cabin where they had been living. Meanwhile, a series of strange phenomena are shaking up the island: animals are acting strangely; knockabouts, or tremors, are occurring more frequently; and a major flood almost takes the car the children live in. In this follow-up to Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts (2016), the hopeful, optimistic siblings simultaneously search for a place to call home and try to help their friend Mr. Knuckles find love, and in the midst of both missions, they discover that Johnny Trout, along with mysterious Professor Mumby, may have something to do with the occurrences on the island. Spalding offers enough background that it will be easy for kids to start with this volume, even if they haven't read the first installment. With quick chapters, a compelling mystery, clever kid characters, and humorous antics galore, this lighthearted, cheer-worthy adventure should find an easy audience among middle-grade readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)