Friday, October 13, 2017

The Worst Goes South

The Worst Goes South. James Stevenson. 1995. 26 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was a brisk October day. The worst person in the world was taking Daisy for a walk in the woods.

Premise/plot: Readers meet a grumpy, old man "The Worst" in James Stevenson's The Worst Goes South. Why does he choose to go south? To get away from the town's Harvest Festival. His house is right next door to a big empty field. And that big empty field is about to be filled with people, stuff, and NOISE, NOISE, NOISE. The Worst goes to Florida...where he stays in a motel room that is lacking in every way. The owner of the motel thinks he recognizes the Worst?! Could these two be long, lost brothers?!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Mr. Worst is a bit anti-social, a bit rude. Take out the bit, actually. He's very rude, and definitely anti-social. He doesn't want his yard and his porch being used by the people setting up the Harvest Festival. It's bad enough he has to allow people to park in his yard--for free. The book is amusing.
The worst stopped at a toll booth.
"How much?" he said.
"2.50," said the toll taker.
"That's an outrage," said the worst. He handed the man a quarter. "Take this and be glad you got it." Then he drove over the bridge.
We do eventually learn his name: Arvin. 

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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