[.ca] Of Mice and Nutcrackers: A Peeler Christmas (ISBN 0887764983)

Amazon.ca:
The family of Jane Peeler, the young heroine of Richard Scrimger's Of Mice and Nutcrackers, is about as far away from Leave It to Beaver as you can get. Mom's a workaholic who seems to have forgotten what the word maternal means. Stay-at-home Dad is totally out of it up on the third floor most of the time due to a serious attack of pneumonia. Cranky Grandma, called in to manage the household through the crisis, chain-smokes, swears, and serves the family burnt marshmallow pork chops on the first night she arrives. Luckily, Jane, first introduced by Scrimger in The Way to Schenectady, is a resourceful girl full of know-how, determination, and--at least on the outside--self-confidence. For not only is life disintegrating at home, but school seems to be one big catastrophe as well. The special version of The Nutcracker she has written for the school's holiday pageant is plagued with problems. Among other things, Patti, Jane's best friend and leading lady, has fallen in love with Brad, her leading man, and is jealous of anyone who speaks to him, especially Jane. Then there's the ongoing confrontation with Coach Gebohm over the use of the gym, which ends in a miraculous and manic manner the night of the big performance. There's a lot to digest and Scrimger's writing style can be obtuse at times. However, curiosity will likely propel the reader headlong toward the tying-up in the aptly titled final chapter, "Loose Ends." (Ages 8 to 11) --Martha Johnson

You will enjoy reading this book.:
In this sequel to THE WAY TO SCHENECTADY, Jane Peeler, 13, writes clever, funny poems to put to the music of The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. His music and her poems make a great play and her class at school is performing Jane's work at their Winter Concert. Jane is the director, since she dreamed up the whole thing. Plus, she's bossy enough to tell everybody what to do and smart enough to know how things should be. But, as she discovers, that isn't all there is to directing. Problem number one is the coach. He won't let her class use his gym for rehearsals. Then her best friend, Patti, who plays the heroine, gets a crush on Brad, who plays the hero. Their friendship starts to dissolve as Patti thinks that Jane is too friendly with Brad---and she thinks Jane bosses her around too much. Another student, Jiri, has a big body and a big heart, but a slow brain. He can't remember his few lines. Jane is sorry she even gave him lines, but she can't take them away because he is so happy to be in the play. Jane has even more troubles at home. Her father gets pneumonia. He's the one who takes care of her and her brothers while her mother works. Things get so bad when her mother has to stay home that Jane's grandmother has to come help. Jane is smart and determined. She knows the play will go on in spite of everything. Like everybody else, she just doesn't know how. You will enjoy reading this book to see how Jane shows nothing can get in her way. --- (...)