The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown

Bingo Brown is one of Byars's most ingenuous and likable male characters since Junior Blossom. He is a fairly ordinary sixth grader, with a number of extraordinary questions, which he faithfully copies down in his journal. Three girls have won his heart, simultaneously, and so he is shuffling around, trying to understand the next phase of affection. But Bingo has other, more serious concerns: his favorite teacher has started to speak of a woman he loves in class, inviting opinions from the children, and asking, indirectly, for help that most of them are too young to give. Without resorting to the knee-slapping antics of her last few books, Byars relays Bingo's questions and his answers, in a way that is so believable that readers may wonder if there isn't a Bingo in their classrooms. Ages 8-12. (April)