Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls

Jonell, Lynne. Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls. Art by Jonathan Bean. Henry Holt and Company. 2008. Emmy from "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat" (Henry Holt, 2007) is back with her best friend Joe and her delightful animal friends in another amusing fantasy adventure. Emmy, Joe, and her new friend Meg get involved in rescuing some kidnapped children who have been shrunk and enslaved by Emmy's former villainous nanny, Miss Barmy. Jonathan Bean decorates the page tops with a recurring closet shelf that hints of the mystery in the story, and cleverly creates an animated mouse figure gradually climbing a rope up to the shelf as the story progresses. Well-written humorous dialogue and engaging characters make this book an appealing read for children, ages 9-12.