Don't Be Afraid, Amanda - Hardcover

Grade 2-4-- In this engaging sequel to I'll Meet You at the Cucumbers (Atheneum, 1988), city mouse Amanda ventures into the country to visit her friend, the mouse poet, Adam. In an event-filled day, she learns that the country has its own brand of excitement, mystery, and danger--there are scarecrows to climb, chipmunks to endure, skunks to avoid, and turtles that will move slowly to rescue a mouse in peril. The plotting is brisk, and the writing abounds with a gentle wisdom and wry humor. But the special dimension to this accessible animal fantasy is Adam's poems that are interspersed within the narrative. Teachers will find this a treasure for introducing poetry, and readers just ready for chapter books will relish the story. --Caroline Ward, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a sequel to the appealing I'll Meet You at the Cucumbers (1988), Amanda (the city mouse) makes her first visit to country mouse pen-pal Adam, affording us the pleasure of seeing Adam's bucolic surroundings from her perspective. The events here are quiet, the most exciting being when Amanda floats adrift into the pond on a leaf and is easily rescued by a turtle. But Moore charms with her lucid narration, her small, gently characterized creatures and their gracefully realized world, and especially with Adam's lyrical poems, which continue to celebrate his insights into his fellow creatures. Appropriately, McCord's frequent b&w illustrations are in the cozy Garth Williams tradition. (Fiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.