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Fleming's chapter book takes young bookworms back to small-town Piney Point, where two third-grade entrepreneurial girls—Vonnie and Fussy—are "always looking for good stories." Piney Point, home to many interesting, eccentric character-citizens, has plenty of such stories to offer. Mrs. Bergey (known affectionately as Mrs. B) publishes the town newspaper, The Tattler, printing local news and juicy gossip at the reasonable price of three cents per copy.
Though only eight years old, Vonnie and Fussy, eager to earn a penny per story, are in fact the paper's "star reporters." This situation lends itself naturally—and humorously—to all manners of silly journalistic conundrums and small-town reporting hijinks (though innocent in nature, hilarious in effect). Mrs. B's son, Adrian, edits the news quickly, saving time to play sports and "other things that were more fun."
The author has created an entertaining, quirky, family-friendly read set in rural America several generations ago—long before cell phones, social media, and digital overload. Fleming excels at character development and weaving of silly mishaps and misunderstandings, wherein the young innocence and inexperience of the two protagonists result in "tattler tales" covering local goings-on in delightfully charming fashion, as only Vonnie and Fussy could deliver.
Sometimes newsworthy, other times not so much (but always entertaining), Piney Point's happenings are presented through Fleming's main storyline, then followed up with (or accentuated by, whether accurately or not) the inclusion of "clips" from The Tattler, showcasing the two girls' reporting. As the plot itself leisurely unfolds, chapter by chapter, readers are simultaneously treated to visual samplings of newsprint tidbits from the fictional town—courtesy of the duo of star reporters—creating a truly enjoyable, unique book for readers of any age. Within these pages, historical fiction meets intelligent, creative storytelling, and the end result is itself newsworthy.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review