By Chris Raschka
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection
"Excellent. . . . Raschka’s prose is charming, written in a rural deadpan reminiscent of Kate DiCamillo, and the accompanying drawings are comical and oddball, like many of the novel’s eccentric characters."
—The New York Times
★"Raschka draws on his inner teen and grown-up as well as his inner child for this wry tale of a town whose values and customs are threatened by a ruthless real-estate developer . . .The strength of small-town stories like this is nearly always in the cast, and here the author ropes in a lively one, pitting Gasbag against 12-year-old summer visitor Peachaloo Piccolozampa at the head of a supporting group that ranges from her indomitable grandmother Helena to a mysterious pair of bank robbers disguised as men. The plot is enriched by jump-rope rhymes, a climactic natural disaster, and enough meticulously detailed rehearsal and performance scenes for a town play to satisfy the most rabid young thespians. Still, it’s Peachaloo—able to hear what people really mean underneath what they say—who really owns this beguiling story, and who is left at the end floating in the restored pond, thinking big thoughts. Fourwords’ small-town characters and character come alive in the frequent black-and-white sketches."
—Booklist, Starred Review
“Raschka’s engaging story will win readers’ hearts with its humorous, adventure-filled tale. . . . An enjoyable addition for upper elementary and middle school collections as an alternative to ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Captain Underpants.’”
—School Library Journal
"Rambling omniscient narration from an observant, good-humored townsperson imparts a cozy atmosphere. . . . Loose blackline illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Raschka depict the eclectic small-town cast with fluid forms."
—Publishers Weekly
"[A] rollicking, digressive, and (unsurprisingly given Raschka’s work as an illustrator) highly visually descriptive novel. . . . In a dramatic conclusion . . . Peachaloo gains confidence, and order is restored in proper comic fashion."
—The Horn Book
"Eccentricity abounds in this fantastical underdog tale of natural and historical preservation."
—Kirkus Reviews
“Raschka has created a wonderland of the whimsical and weird, with specific and eccentric tertiary characters, a preening and completely unredeemed villain, and a town rich with history and tradition, all bolstered by his signature twisted-but-lovely, pen-and-ink illustrations. —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books A rollicking, digressive, and (unsurprisingly given Raschka’s work as an illustrator) highly visually descriptive novel. Raschka’s engaging story will win readers’ hearts with its humorous, adventure-filled tale. . . . An enjoyable addition for upper elementary and middle school collections as an alternative to ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and “Captain Underpants.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Do you remember that time a wasp stung you and you got a new superpower and you managed to solve the mystery of a long-ago bank robbery and save your hometown from a sneaky villain? No? If you read this book, the answer will be yes.” —Lemony Snicket, creator of A Series of Unfortunate Events
“Waiting for Guffman meets Bonnie and Clyde meets Chris Raschka. It’s a delight, in other words.” —Nicholas Day, Sibert Medal–winning author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes
“Oh my! I want Peachaloo as my best friend—with or without her superpowers, which are bestowed upon her when a wasp and Peach have an accidental encounter. I want to live in the funny little town of Fourwords where a grand old mansion that was once a monastery for jump roping nuns and priests attempts to fight the building a golf course where Peach’s favorite swimming hole is. As deft with his pen as he is with his paintbrush, Chris Raschka draws us into this odd world. Truly a gem of a book. Heartfelt and full of passion. It sparkles.” —Kathryn Lasky, New York Times bestselling author of the Guardians of Ga’hoole series
“This book is a DELIGHT. Funny, fun, and utterly unique.” —Adam Rex, New York Times bestselling author of The True Meaning of Smekday
“There is a quirky, sophisticated gentleness to this clever new novel by Chris Raschka. The charming cast is only as large as a small country town, and the plot is as tidy as a blowhard invades utopia and must be beaten back—and yet there is so much more in the middle. Mr. Raschka’s well defined main characters, which we love, are cleverly loquacious, country-sophisticated, and warmly wise. You pull for them to defend their town throughout the story and while doing so they will enlighten you on a variety of engaging subjects. The dialog is pitch perfect and the prose unrolls at a timeless pace which smoothly transforms fiction into reality. It is a joy to read a smart, thoughtfully layered novel that is written so well. It’s a terrific book—quirky, human, with a statement.” —Jack Gantos, Newbery Medal–winning author of Dead End in Norvelt