A Legend in His Own Mind

Kidd's new series introduces a guitar-playing fourth grader who aspires to rock stardom. In fact, in Danny Dorfman's active imagination, he is a celebrity--with his own band and Arnold Schwarzenegger as his bodyguard. When the school talent contest is announced, Danny decides to make his dreams come true and assembles a band that he is sure will wow the audience. For all the wrong reasons, this unorthodox group of musicians (including his priggish, piano-playing sister) does just that. Kidd laces his brief caper with comical analogies and peppy dialogue bound to please his audience. Oddly, Jones's lively black-and-white cartoons are occasionally out of sync with the text; though one girl's hair is described as black, she is depicted with light hair. Nevertheless, this series is off to a rollicking and rolling start. Ages 8-11. (May)