Up from Jericho Tel

Konigsburg delivers a witty, fast-paced story of two likable, headstrong children, who encounter the ghost of an old actress. Jeanmarie and Malcolm are plummeted into the magic underground world of flamboyant, red-haired, cigarette-puffing Tallulah. Tallulah sets them a series of tasks righting wrongs on earth (including exposing a phony faith healer by exposing him, in one of the book's funniest scenes), and making them invisible in order to perform these works. The tasks lead, in fine fairy-tale fashion, to the one big task, and then to the rewardin this case, realizing their talents and finding the courage to let them emerge. The dialogue is sharp and funny, the characters pleasing and Tallulah is a pip. And although Konigsburg is not didactic, it seems clear that with all this talk of magic, the real magic is the discovery of one another by two lonely chidren, and the loving friendship that ensues. (10-up)