Trouble in Toadpool

Trouble in Toadpool
by Anne Fine
Doubleday, 2013. 219 pgs. Fiction

Anne Fine is very British and very funny, no more so than in this new book where Ralph and his family are wrenched away from their perfect lazy Sunday by Aunt Susan (she who must be obeyed) to help save The Great Toadpool Show and Choir Competition. Suddenly the Mountfields are called upon to provide a stiltwalker, a trapeze artist, a fortune teller, and somehow, a Mystery Celebrity Guest to fill in for the MCG who bailed on the whole business. Can all this possibly be pulled off in time? Will Ralph have to wear a spangly leotard in his trapeze act? Will Great Granny whack anyone with her cane while she is in charge of the Lucky Dip? And will Cousin Titania regain her self-confidence after sitting in a splat of gum during her tumbling run? These questions and more will be answered if you read Trouble in Toadpool, a ball of laughs for young and old.

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