When paintings from London's National Gallery, which has suffered flood damage, are temporarily relocated to narrator Dylan Hughes's Welsh hometown, it seems to be just what the former slate-mining community needs to improve its self-image. The comedy of misperception reigns in Dylan's endearingly ingenuous account of his town and family's struggle for financial and emotional stability. Eccentric supporting characters enhance the vivid tableau.

"The Man With The Plan," Griffin Bing, and his 12-year-old fix-it clique have graduated to Cedarville Middle School, and the new principal is a total nightmare. A former high-school football coach, Dr. Egan (aka Dr. Evil) makes the whole school exercise instead of having homeroom, and he warns Griffin he's fully aware of the boy's nearly illegal activities past. When Griffin's errant retainer is discovered in a locked display case in place of the Super Bowl ring of a former student, Griffin is sent to JFK (jail for kids) Alternative Education Center while the case works its way through courts. Griffin and his friends know he's innocent—but unfortunately the man with the plan's plans have the usual result: Everyone gets in more trouble. Griffin's suddenly under house arrest, and the other kids have to use their specialized skills to find the real thief before he's sent further up the river. Korman's third caper starring Griffin & Co. features some conclusion-jumping that would do Inspector Clouseau proud as well as plenty of improbable adult reactions...but it's just as goofball-funny and addictive as the previous two ( Zoobreak , 2009, etc.). (Fiction. 9-12)

Gr 6-9-Boyce's second novel is written with the same charm and deadpan humor as Millions (HarperCollins, 2004). Dylan Hughes is the only boy living in Manod, an uneventful Welsh town of drizzling grayness that he thinks is full of Hidden Beauty. His best buddies are two agoraphobic chickens named Michelangelo and Donatello after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His family runs the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel garage. When the business falters, his father takes off, and Dylan, Mam, his older sister, Marie, and his aspiring criminal genius younger sister, Minnie, try to make Oasis more profitable so that he will return. Flooding in London causes the National Gallery to evacuate its paintings to the safety of Manod's mine. (An actual evacuation to the Manod slate quarry occurred during World War II.) Lester, the art expert in charge, takes a shine to Dylan as an art connoisseur on hearing the chickens' names. When he agrees to put one masterpiece at a time on view, the villagers' lives are changed. Minnie concocts a hilarious scheme to nick Van Gogh's Sunflowers, replacing it with a paint-by-number affair. All gets sorted out and Dad comes home. The colorful characters steal the show-even the secondary players are cleverly drawn. But it is Dylan's narrative voice, with its unintended humor, appealing na vet , and expression of absolute belief in his dad that is truly a masterpiece.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.