Snaggle Doodles

By Patricia Reilly Giff

Book Overview

April is invention month. "We're going to make our own inventions," says Ms. Rooney, "and work together in groups." Though Emily Arrow knows it's important for each group to think, listen, and share, she still wishes she were the leader of her invention group. Linda Lorca, the bossy leader, can't get anyone to cooperate. "Snaggle doodles," Emily says. If the group doesn't come up with an idea soon, they'll be the worst group in the class. Meanwhile, Emily is also busy thinking of a wedding present for Ms. Vincent, the student teacher. The wedding is only a few days away. Emily has a lot to do. Can she and her group learn to work together in time?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044048068X
• ISBN13: 9780440480686
• Release Date: March 1985
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 68 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

A Fond Trip Down Memory Lane

I honestly have no idea how I stumbled upon this book now, so many years after reading it. I'll be twenty years old this year and am attending college with the intent of becoming a writer/teacher myself. Miraculously, despite not having seen or read these books in many years, I am able to remember this entire series and its characters perfectly: The realistic and relatable heroine of most tales, Emily Arrow; her younger sister Stacy (star of the New Polk Street School kids series), who 'smiled like Elwood, the dog down the street'; Beast (aka Matthew Best), the considerable leader of the class and a star of the series in his own right; his best friend, the smelly Matthew Jackson; the beautiful, prim and proper, "perfect" Dawn Tiffani Bosco (whom you later learned wasn't so bad, thanks to her own series, the Polka Dot Private Eye); Ms. Rooney, the pure embodiment of a stereo-typical perfect teacher; and, of course, the other classmates who frequent the adventures (like Sherri Dent)... I could go on and on. I've always been somewhat of a.. OK, somewhat of a dork, to be completely honest. I learned to read when I was 3 years old, and haven't been able to put a book down ever since. I delved into this series when I was about six years old and fell in love with it. The characters always managed to entertain me, but still taught lessons of great moral values without making them too obvious or preachy. The oft-outrageous and hilarious predicaments the children get themselves into time and time again keep its readers from losing interest, a problem that frequently occurs to its target age group. The books also depicted scenes and situations most children have found themselves in at some point in time, providing an outlet for alliance. Overall, having experienced the pleasure of reading this series at the age it was intended for and seeing that I still remember specific details from it almost 14 years later, I think it is safe to say that these are fabulous books for children. In a day and age where simplicity and innocence is becoming harder and harder to come by, these timeless books provide a fantastic escape for kids. I am thankful that I still own my collection so many years later; perhaps one day I will have the pleasure of sharing them with my future children. Kudos and hats off to the author for creating such a wonderfully relatable and captivating assortment of characters and antics still cherished today!