Product Description

Agapanthus Hum is a whirlwind. She hums, she cartwheels, and she is always running around. Now that Agapanthus has eyeglasses, her parents want her to be careful. Agapanthus tries to slow down; she even wears a bag on her head so her glasses won't get lost, but more often then not, her glasses go flying. What do grown-up acrobats do with their eyeglasses? Agapanthus's parents bring her to a performance so that she can find out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2052900 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-11
• Released on: 2002-01-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 48 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Agapanthus Hum, the altogether winning heroine of Cowley's (Mrs. Wishy Washy) spunky chapter book, has an exuberance befitting her name: "she was called Hum because she was such a whizzer, humming and whizzing like a button on a string." Her rushing, twirling and cartwheeling, however, sometimes results in minor accidents and often spells trouble for her eyeglasses, which fall off and get bent and twisted. Though they warn her to be cautious, Agapanthus's parents encourage their daughter's acrobatics and also treat her to a trip to the circus, where Agapanthus is in awe of the trapeze artist ("I am going to do that," she announces). Cowley's tale features playful language, characters that have their quirks yet stay believable, and a fun-to-read pace that is sure to keep beginning readers entertained as well as a bit challenged. Plecas (Rattlebone Rock) plays up the text's sweet-natured humor with her springy-limbed heroine, who indeed looks as if she can barely contain her energy; and with the introduction of a busy little dog, a constant companion that is Agapanthus's equal when it comes to childlike glee. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-The text of this beginning chapter book races along just like its main character. Agapanthus Hum is a bundle of energy with "...tunes inside her, tunes for running and whirling, tunes for dancing in the wind...." Because she is always "humming and whizzing" and tumbling with acrobatic abandon, accidents often happen and her glasses swing, slip, and drop, and are constantly in need of repair. When her understanding (and comically exaggerated) parents, "good little Mommy" and "good little Daddy," take her to a show, they discover how a real gymnast saves her glasses. Unlike many books for newly independent readers, Cowley's word choices provide readers with interesting images-"tunes that bubbled toothpaste and gurgled lemonade," "her hum puffed out like a birthday candle," "beads went everywhere, like blue hailstones," etc. Plecas's illustrations extend the humor and reinforce the seven-chapter text. There is at least one Agapanthus Hum in every classroom and that child is waiting for this delightful book.
Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Agapanthus looks at the world from different points of view, and her favorites include a twirling one and an upside down one. As she gyrates and hums from one activity to the next, Agapanthus's glasses invariably come out the worse for wear. Thanks to her Good Little Mommy and Daddy and a dazzling performer in the acrobat show, Agapanthus resolves her love of activity with eyeglass wearing. Christina Moore's narration exudes Agapanthus's excitement and conviction to be just like "the lady in the white tights." Earnestly Moore shares Agapanthus's experiments at keeping her glasses safe. Graciously, and a bit exasperatedly, she shares the parents' efforts to keep Agapanthus on an even keel. A.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine