Linda Hendry – illustratör

Readers first met the Peeler family as they went on a hilarious summer road trip in The Way to Schenectady. Now winter has come and with it the school holiday pageant. Jane Peeler, who loves to be the boss at all times, is directing her class production of The Nutcracker. All does not go as well as she planned as she finds the plot of the presentation creeping into her own life. First, there are problems at school, caused by a gym teacher who wants the gym for basketball, not for rehearsal space. Then there’s a budding romance in the cast. At home, Dad has come down with an illness, and Grandma — grumpy, chain-smoking, profane Grandma — comes back on the scene as a reluctant baby-sitter to Jane and her younger brothers Bill and Bernie.The fun that ensues is pure Scrimger, and is sure to delight his legion of fans.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Twelve-year-old Jane Peeler is about to embark on a summer ritual: the family car trip. Along with her two younger brothers, Bill and Bernie, Jane will endure traffic jams, singalongs, and fights over who gets the window on a two-day car trip to New England. With help from her Walkman, it may not be too bad, even if her chain-smoking, grumpy grandmother is coming along. But during a stop at a gas station, the kids meet Marty – a kind, penniless old man with a problem. How will he get to his brother’s funeral in Schenectady the next day? Jane would like to help him out – but how? Bringing a friend along on holiday is one thing, but a total stranger?Readers will delight in the hilarious detours the Peelers must make to get their newest passenger, and themselves, to their destination on time.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The kids of Room 207 arrive at their class on the first day of school to find it has suffered “a most grievous accident” and is covered in mysterious slime. Their teacher leads her charges to the original one-room schoolhouse that stands on the property. But the schoolroom isn’t empty — it is inhabited by a spooky guest. The shock of being transferred to the worst classroom on the planet has barely worn off when Erik, the school’s biggest bully, and Stove, the world’s second fastest pot-bellied pig, are added to the attendance sheet. The winner of this year’s Best Classroom contest will represent the school on a reality show, but what chance does Room 207 have to win when it is already nicknamed, “The Pigpen”? And how do you accept an award if your teacher has been swallowed by slime?Room 207’s cast of hilarious characters includes a guinea pig named Butterbum, a cat who needed ten lives and nine kids desperate to prove themselves to the school and to the reality-tv viewing world.From the Trade Paperback edition.