Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson

Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders… George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”).

Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. The story’s focus on Audacity’s remarkable cat, with some chapters told from the cat’s point of view, adds just another element of charm.Ĭlever, funny, and sweet in equal measures. She marvels at the new automobiles that are replacing horses as transportation. With characteristic deftness, she weaves her historical material seamlessly into the story Audacity is a modern girl, but her modern time is 1910.

Larson infuses her romp with plenty of humor, making Audacity, her cat, and friends into lively, likable characters. Audie, Min, and Juice, a spunky newspaper boy, team up to foil the crime. Posing as a cook’s assistant, she winds up in the White House, where she meets the president and learns of the plot to kidnap his niece. With Min as a stowaway, they travel to Washington, but she soon learns that not all is on the level: there’s wickedness afoot. When the wealthy Commodore Crutchfield requests an orphan for a mission, Audie volunteers. Only an extremely clever stray cat, Min, keeps her company there. She’s also the only one who must spend time in the dreaded “Punishment Room,” which is really an extensive library that she keeps secret from the others. Audacity travels to Washington, D.C., where she foils a kidnapping plot at the White House.Īudie is the only actual orphan at Miss Maisie’s School for Wayward Girls in Swayzee, Indiana.

Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson