New York Herald TribuneEllen and her troubles are both funny and touching; we meet her trying to hide her long underwear at dancing school, and playing a substitute rat in `The Pied Piper.' All is told with a downright realism, and the school scenes are choice.
School Library JournalGr 2-4-Beverly Cleary's delightful peek into a young girl's life (Morrow, 1951) will capture a new audience in audiobook format. Listeners will giggle at third-grader Ellen's trials with both woolen underwear and her nemesis, Otis Spofford. They will sympathize with Ellen's desire to clap erasers, and her travails in acquiring a giant beet. Then there's the whole concept of being a "substitute rat." Through it all, Ellen's friendship with Austine, and their quarrel and eventual reconciliation provide the thread that ties all the events together.
