FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this funny, fast-paced middle-grade novel, fifth-grader Joel wants nothing to do with babies. He's the only kid in Junior Adventurers who hasn't passed Emergency Preparedness, and the last thing he needs is a real-lifecrisis that will mess up his chances. But when his best friend's pretty older sister begs him to help her by taking care of a toddler named Tucker (aka Trouble), he can't say no. And, boy, is he sorry.

During his hair-raising-and hilarious-adventure in baby-sitting, Joel battles putrid diapers, an escaped cockatoo, and a best friend obsessed with capturing footage for World's Funniest Videos. After all this, passing a silly old emergency test looks like a walk in the park.

About the Author: Bonnie Graves is the author of several middle-grade novels, including No Copycats Allowed and The Best, Worst Day.

Robin Preiss Glasser is best known for the picture books she created with her sister, Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, including You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (Dial).

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Susan Hepler

Joel Maccarone's a fifth-grader who can't seem to pass his outdoor emergency preparedness requirements. He needs to fulfill these requirements so that he can go on a mountain bike trip with a group. However, his best friend's sister wants to go to a Scum and Suds concert at the mall. She persuades Joel to babysit just for a few hours so she can sneak away. He agrees, lets his mother know, and handles poopy diapers, an escaped cockatoo, and generally keeps a cool head in all of the slapstick but very real things that occur. One assumes he'll now pass that preparedness test. The problem is that there are no consequences for the sister's actions of leaving her charge in someone else's hands while she indulges herself (and rewards Joel with a t-shirt of the concert group). Humor works hard here¿¿¿characters have names like Dr. Dribble, Mrs. Rainershine, Tucker Goodchild, etc.; an old lady with dementia makes a "comic" appearance; harum-scarum scenes of mayhem are barely handled by Joel; and he and his best friend Ralphie Rottenburger engage in funny banter as Ralphie tries to get footage for "The World's Funniest Home Videos." Still, it's difficult to get by that irresponsible sister. Glasser's black and white line illustrations contribute to the humor in each of the nine short chapters and most third grade readers will find something to laugh at here. Parents beware. 2002, Dutton,

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Joel Maccarone was the only kid in Junior Adventurers to ever flunk EP (Emergency Preparedness) twice. So when Rachel Rottenberger begs him to take over her baby-sitting duties for a toddler appropriately nicknamed Trouble, Joel's first response is to panic. In the end, however, after a series of hijinks involving an escaped pet, a loony neighbor, and a dirty diaper, the fifth grader saves the day. The characters are believable and the plot, while predictable, is fast paced. This is an early chapter book, the style and humor of which will appeal to emergent readers. Full-page, pen-and-ink illustrations appear throughout.-Robyn Ryan Vandenbroek, Elgin Court Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Who's taking care of toddler Tucker Goodchild? Not his real babysitter, that's for sure. Rachel Rottenberger is Tucker's sitter, but she needs a substitute so she can see her favorite rock group, Scum and the Suds. Fifth-grader Joel Maccarone is strong-armed into watching Tucker for a few hours. He has taken a babysitting class but has never actually watched a real, live toddler. As the reader will no doubt guess from the beginning, everything that can go wrong will. Writing over-the-top humor is one thing, putting a baby in danger is another. Joel drops the baby as he attempts to squeeze him into the high chair, ice cream flies through the air and speckles the cabinets, the birdcage gets knocked over and capsizes, Tucker eats a chalk crayon . . . you get the picture. Would any mother, upon hearing that her fifth-grade son is babysitting for the first time without the baby's parents' permission, simply allow it to happen? How likely is it that a baby would be left wearing cloth diapers? With pins? In 2002? Would a child who can't even work a high chair be able to fashion a new diaper out of his own t-shirt? Miraculously, Joel is transformed from the bumbling nervous sitter into a picture of confidence. He strips the baby, tests the water temperature with his elbow, and gives Tucker a bath. (A ten-year-old boy bathing a toddler?) Tucker miraculously says the word "coset" and lets Joel know where the disposable diapers are. (And why wasn't one of them on the baby when the sitter arrived?) Younger readers might be amused by the slapstick escapades of Joel, but older children will cringe at the sheer implausibility of the tale. Even the characters' names distract from the story. Not evenGlasser's wonderfully amusing signature black-and-white drawings rescue this work. Cleary's Ramona and Hurwitz's Russell are much better choices for children who like realistic, humorous situations. (Fiction. 8-12)