Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry, Diane de Groat (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

In this second book about Anastasia Krupnik's younger brother, Sam concocts a perfume made of his mother's favorite smells to honor her request for only homemade gifts for her birthday.

Publishers Weekly

In this high-spirited and generally funny novel, Anastasia Krupnik's younger brother displays her enterprising spirit--and her propensity for disaster. For his mother's birthday, Sam determines to concoct a special perfume by combining her favorite smells: his father's pipe, chicken soup and freshly washed hair, to name a few. The resulting hideous brew is uncorked in a waggish scene that resists the obvious moral (``It's the thought that counts'') and concentrates instead on the value of enjoying a good chuckle at oneself. Sam's generosity and naivete, along with his relationship with Anastasia, add palpable warmth. The book's humor, however, is not consistently focused. On the whole, it seems geared to readers at the lower end of the age range, those young enough to identify with a preschooler's mistakes. But other elements--in particular, a subplot concerning an awkward poem Anastasia is writing--are better suited to older readers. Ages 7-12. (Apr.)

"Warm, lively, true to children's real inner lives, and laugh-aloud funny all the way."

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-- Mrs. Krupnik insists she wants only homemade gifts for her birthday--except for a new bottle of her favorite perfume. When it turns out the fragrance is no longer available, Sam rises to the occasion with a concoction of his own invention. After all, he knows all his mother's favorite smells and has all of a week to collect them. By week's end, Sam's surprise is bubbling and brewing--and fouling the air of his bedroom--and his enthusiasm wanes. Meanwhile, Anastasia and her father are having second thoughts about their own offerings. Can this birthday be saved? Yes, hilariously, as Lowry succeeds where others might fail in taking each carefully contrived scenario one step beyond its predictable outcome. Readers may well anticipate the results of Sam's attempts to collect that ``new baby'' aroma, but it's the essence of baking bread that proves the salient ingredient of the noxious brew. And readers all know that the boy will somehow manage to keep the gray kitten his father is allergic to, but it's serendipity and not the relenting of adoring parents that allows it to happen. While Lowry snags readers with her teasing style, exaggeration, and gimmickery, she holds them with an unerring sense of humor and a sure sense of her audience. Attagirl, Lois! --Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY

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