  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 03/01/2012 Gr 2–5—Readers will cheer the return of the Dunderheads, that subversive and exuberant mixed bag of kids named for their unique aptitudes—e.g., Einstein, Wheels, Junkyard, etc. The gang is thrilled to start summer vacation and escape the clutches of their ghastly teacher, Miss Breakbone. But hiring on as extras for a movie starring their favorite actress, Ashley Throbb-Hart, they discover, miserably, that their detestable teacher has done the same. ("I thought she toured with the Women's Wrestling League in the summer," moans Nails.) Meanwhile, a cat burglar is breaking into local homes, and Miss Breakbone spitefully accuses Spider, with his talent for climbing, of being the thief. With him behind bars (the police chief is Miss Breakbone's brother—and alter ego), the Dunderheads go into all-hands-on-deck mode to hatch an ingenious Rube Goldberg-like scheme to snare the real criminal and spring their friend from jail. The wry, economical text works in seamless partnership with the stylized, one-of-a-kind watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations to move the zippy story line forward. The characters' singular personalities and intelligence shine in the quirky details of their clothing and the telling minutiae surrounding them in their homes (not a computer screen in sight but plenty of games, microscopes, and measuring devices). The Dunderheads might be "half-pint hooligans" or underestimated budding geniuses, but either way young readers will surely line up in droves for this winning gang's latest adventure.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/01/2012 The oddball squad from The Dunderheads (2009) are back to their old tricks. Having stuck it good to their malevolent teacher, Miss Breakbone, the kids think they’re free from her once summer vacation starts. If only. When they sign up to be extras on a movie set where some jewelry goes missing, Breakbone and her brother, the equally hateful police chief, toss Spider in jail (“The kid’s a climber . . . I don’t need more proof”). Dunderhead mastermind Einstein engineers a daring plan involving a superlong strand of linked paper clips, a piece of junkyard bait, and some cleverly repurposed beef jerky to catch the real crook. Plan A goes sour, but Plan B sets everything right for the good-natured misfits. Fleischman’s quirky story again owes much of its appeal to Roberts’ top-shelf illustrations, cutting up the pages into inventive arrays of interlocking shapes and showcasing how each of the kids’ unique talents work together in an Ocean’s Eleven–style caper. - Copyright 2012 Booklist. Loading...
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