Scooter King, son of an unscrupulous spiritualist, finds a drowned man inside Harry Houdini's Burmese Torture Tank. Scooter gets caught up in the mystery, teaming with Houdini to solve the case. Lawrence sets his story perfectly in the time, with particular emphasis on the razzle-dazzle of vaudeville. Newspaper-style chapter headings give a date-by-date account of happenings in the novel and the world.

Gr 1-3 Krensky's text about Franklin's first experiment with a kite is well written and conveys a number of known facts about the man. Throughout the easy-to-read story, Franklin has conversations with his friends and parents, and his observations are well described. Dodson's watercolor illustrations nicely portray details of the period. The children are skillfully drawn, and the action is well expressed in the art. This is a good addition to any collection for beginning readers. Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR