Spud in Winter

by Brian Doyle

Overview

Spud Sweetgrass and his friends Connie Pan and Dink the Thinker are back. And this time Spud is in some frigid trouble. One morning Spud sees a terrible crime. And he can't get it out of his mind. Detective Kennedy wants him to tell her what he saw, but he's afraid of the man with the most beautiful hair in the world — afraid for himself, and afraid for Connie Pan.

How will Spud find his way our of the mess he's in? Another masterful book by award-winning author Brian Doyle, Spud in Winter combines rollicking humour, chilling mystery, and delight in human foibles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780888997555
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	11/01/2006
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	4.94(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Brian Doyle is the award-winning author of many beloved children's books. He lives in Chelsea, Quebec.

Editorial Reviews

Doyle's irreverent and bawdy humour will render readers apoplectic as they read about the adventures of Spud...

Resource Links

Each chapter is like a small cameo, well-honed and polished.

Ottawa Citizen

Gr 6-9Fasten your seat belts because Spud in Winter is one ride of a read. Doyle creates a cast of likable, interesting characters and a moderately intriguing plot all submerged in a tumultuous staccato writing style. Spud Sweetgrass, a student at Ottawa Technical High School, is witness to a murder. He wrestles with deciding if he should tell the police what he saw or remain silent. His conscience ultimately wins over his fear, and Spud is completely immersed in helping solve the crime. Doyle's strengths are in his ability to take readers right into the essence of the setting: an Ottawa winter full of crunching snow, plunging temperatures, and frozen canals, but his writing style is simply too jagged for average middle-school readers and is a bit of a turn-off. If you are searching for a mystery that combines an unlikely friendship with overcoming adversity in a very readable style, try Rodman Philbrick's Freak the Mighty (Scholastic, 1993). Old die-hard Doyle fans may persevere through Spud's adventures, but on its own the book is not likely to attract and sustain much of an audience.Joan Soulliere, Wenham Public Library, MA

School Library Journal