The Horn Book Guide

YOUNGER FICTION

Jennings, Patrick , Jennings, Patrick

The Lightning Bugs: An Ike and Mem Story

56 pp. | Holiday | July, 2003 | Trade ISBN 0-8234-1673-9 $$15.95

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Anna Alter & Anna Alter. Mem is not happy when her big brother, Ike, following the bad-boy lead of a friend, squishes a firefly to make a "lightning ring." Plagued like Lady Macbeth with the stain of the squish, Ike doesn't feel too good about himself. Ike and Mem remain so much themselves in this telling that new fans and those already familiar with their previous outings won't feel preached at and will applaud Ike's hard won--and imaginative--penance and absolution.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton