Herbie Jones and the Dark Attic (Herbie Jones) - Softcover

Suzy Kline, the author of nineteen previous Horrible Harry books and four books about Song Lee, lives in Willington Connecticut with her husband, Rufus. Suzy and Rufus have been married for thirty-eight years. They met in the state where they both grew up: California. Suzy grew up in Berkeley and Rufus in Sacramento. Suzy graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in European history. She met Rufus at the Davis campus while attending that campus for a year. They got married and lived in different places, including Canada, before settling into Connecticut, the state they now call home.

Suzy taught in 5th and 6th grades at Shannon Elementary School in Richmond, California for 3 years, and 2nd and 3rd grades at Southwest Elementary School in Torrington, Connecticut for 24 years before retiring this past June. She now enjoys writing full-time and visiting schools and libraries. The couple share their home with two cats, Teeter and Hoag. They have two daughters, Jennifer and Emily, and four grandchildren: Jake, Kenna, Gabby and Saylor. A fifth grandchild is due in September, 2006. Suzy's mother just turned 96. She dedicated her most recent book, Horrible Harry Takes the Cake to her.

Suzy and Rufus enjoy attending UConn football and basketball games, and Suzy uses the UConn library as a reference for her writing facts.

Grade 2-4-- Another energetic episode about Herbie Jones. The story shifts back and forth between his fourth-grade classroom and his adjustment to his new bedroom. His grandfather plans to come for a visit, and Herbie is the selected family member to vacate his room and move to the unused storage attic. Not at all happy and a bit scared about this arrangement, he solicits the help of his friends to help him acclimate. Herbie's friend Ray spends the first night with him. After figuring out all of the various shadows and noises with some trepidation, the boys realize this might be a safe and possibly fun bedroom--until the next night, when Herbie feels something hairy brush against him--a raccoon. With an upbeat ending, the book illustrates that stressful situations may be worked out when handled with some sort of strategy and with the help of friends. The characters are all well defined, with their own unique personalities finely drawn. A solid story for beginning chapter-book readers. --Cheryl Cufari, N. A. Walbran Elementary School, Oriskany, NY
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