The Bell Bandit (Lemonade War) [Hardcover]

There were many aspects of Jacqueline Davies' "The Bell Bandit" that I liked. Siblings Jessie and Evan Treski are caring, intelligent children. They are hard-working, helpful, and empathize with others. Jessie is accepting of her grandmother's young neighbor, Maxwell, and his friendship with her grandmother. Davies does an outstanding job of capturing the children's personalities and their reactions to various situations.

The references in "The Bell Bandit" to the vintage television series "Get Smart" are a fun tip of the hat to adults who may be reading this book to someone or may be having the book read to them. Davies does a good job of developing the story and of tying the various elements together for a satisfying conclusion.

The story touches on several areas needing further development as each may be encountered by a child through contact with someone in their own life. It becomes evident fairly quickly that the elder Mrs. Teski is suffering from some type of Alzheimers-like problem. She has nearly burned down her home because she forgot about a tea kettle heating on her stove; she does not recognize her grandchildren; and she seems to become confused easily. A simple explanation to Evan and Jessie by their mother about the elder Mrs. Teski's memory loss would have been appropriate. Maxwell seems to be an "outcast;" later explanation by his mother to Jessie hints at his potentially having Aspergers. This would have been an excellent opportunity to foster greater understanding of both conditions.

There is one scenario, however, that should have been omitted since "The Bell Bandit" is geared toward the 9 to 12 year age group. In the course of their search for the missing bell, Jessie and Maxwell discover Jeff and Mike Sinclair, budding sociopaths, torturing a frog. The details of the process for the torture are set forth in chapter 11, along with a diagram of the torture device. This could be extremely disturbing to some young readers. It is gratuitous, unnecessary, and unrelated to the overall storyline of the novel. Parents may want to read this portion of "The Bell Bandit" so they can make a decision as to whether their child should be exposed to that specific material. This scenario, by itself, cost "The Bell Bandit" one star and reduced what would have been a 4-star rating to 3 stars.

Unlike the first two books in this series--The Lemonade War and The Lemonade Crime--this third entry deals primarily with the family and some rather dramatic changes. Like the first two novels, this one deals well with the emotions of the two young protagonists, even as they face situations they do not understand.

Brother and sister Evan and Jessie travel with their mother to their grandmother's house for a New Year's Eve tradition of ringing a bell that their grandmother has placed on a hill near her rustic home. But this year is different. For one thing, the children's 84-year-old grandmother is in the hospital after nearly burning her house down, and for another thing, the bell is missing. While Evan is enlisted to help with the repairs to the house, Jessie joins with an odd local child named Maxwell to try to find the missing bell.

As I assume this review will be read primarily by parents, I urge some caution.

SPOILER WARNINGS

The Bell Bandit deals with some fairly serious themes. The grandmother, for example, appears to be suffering from Alzheimer's, for she has trouble remembering her own grandchildren's names or even recognizing them. Maxwell is also different. As with the grandmother's precise problem, Maxwell's situation is not fully explained or precisely diagnosed, but he appears to have Asperger's syndrome. Finally, there is a scene of animal cruelty that, though thwarted, may make children very uncomfortable. Against this background, the apparent theft of the titular bell seems secondary.

END SPOILER WARNINGS

There is much to recommend in this third entry in The Lemonade War Series, but there is good reason for parents to exercise caution before introducing this to their children, especially those in the middle years of elementary school. I can't make that decision, of course, for others, but I do think parents should read the book first and decide for themselves. (If they do, they'll be rewarded with Get Smart allusions that will probably escape their children's ken.)

The book is written-well and moves along quickly. The characters are interesting and likable (well, other than the two who aren't supposed to be likable).

However, for the intended age group, I think there should be more information to explain just what is going on with the grandmother and the neighbor boy as to what is "different" about them, especially the grandmother. I think many children might not understand much of the book because they won't know what is really going on. Also, I don't think children will have any idea of the reference to the old television series that is part of the story.

Anyway, I liked the book, so I gave it a four star rating. I don't have confidence that many child would rate it that high, however.