ME TARZAN

Byars (Disappearing Acts, 1998, etc.) will have young readers enthusiastically pounding their own chests with this hilarious tale of a child who discovers in herself the true Call of the Wild. After Dorothy beats out rival Dwayne Wiggert for the role of Tarzan in the class play (not missing the chance to add insult to injury by dropping the loser a note reading “Me Tarzan, you Dwayne”), she discovers that her already-stunning yell gets louder every time she rehearses it. It’s a genuinely primal scream too, for with each outburst—printed in sprays of ever-larger type—more dogs, cats, birds, and other pets escape their owners to gather ’round. Her holler at the performance not only leaves more than one pair of wet pants in the audience, it brings the elephants and other animals from a nearby circus bursting into the school auditorium. After being persuaded that the escapees aren't really safe wandering about loose, she lures them back to the big top with a final cry, then (figuratively) hangs up her loincloth, to speculate about future roles . . . say, Peter Pan. Great fun, and a champion candidate for reading aloud. (Fiction. 9-11)