There's a Kangaroo in My Soup!

By Joan Lennon
Illustrated by Wendy Rasmussen

Front Street/Cricket Books, 2000
$15.95 hardcover
199 pages

When Kevin first meets Cynthia she is hiding in his bedroom disguised as a lamp, but Kevin recognizes her for what she is: a kangaroo. Cynthia is running away from the circus, where she is mistress of a thousand disguises, because she wants to be a stand-up comic. As in "What do you call a cheerful kangaroo?" *

Kevin would like to be an inventor like his parents. It's too bad someone always steals their inventions. On hearing this sad story, Cynthia immediately offers to help. Using a few of her disguises, Cynthia and Kevin investigate their suspects, leaving a trail of mayhem, laughter, and spilled soup behind them.

This cute, lightweight middle reader never takes itself seriously -- well, how could it with a kangaroo stand-up comic for a main character? The simple mystery is made up of preposterous and unlikely elements but it works reasonably well. The entertainment lies in Cynthia's approach to detective work rather than the unfolding of the mystery itself. Except for Cynthia, most of Joan Lennon's characters are rather flat, which makes the exuberant kangaroo, in all her roles and disguises, stand out even more; and it is a relief to watch shy, quiet Kevin become more rambunctious and fun-loving. BOOM BOOM.

"What do you call a cheerful kangaroo? A hoptimist!"

Reviewed by Wendy Morris. © 2000 by Wendy Morris.

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