I Hate Company (Puffin Chapters) - Softcover

Grade 3-5-Dan and his mother, Carol, live in a two-bedroom apartment. When Carol announces that they are going to have company for awhile, Dan is not pleased-it means that he has to give up his room. The company turns out to be Carol's friend Kay and her three-year-old son Jimmy. "Aunt Kay" is getting divorced and she needs to find a job before she can rent an apartment. Life is tough in such cramped quarters, especially since Kay is a chain smoker and little Jimmy is a very active child. Dan tries his best to be patient, but is frequently frustrated. Petersen has brought out some of the difficulties of single parenting in this story, but maintains a light touch throughout. The characters and situations are believable, humorous episodes involving the boys are constant, and James's black-and-white illustrations capture the action. Amusing contemporary fiction.
Elizabeth Hamilton, Miami-Dade Public Library, FL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 2-4. Children who've had to put up with annoying houseguests will sympathize with Dan, who hates having company stay overnight. When his mother invites an old friend, Kay, and her three-year-old son, Jimmy, to stay while Kay looks for a job, Dan is horrified: he has to give up his bedroom, Kay chain-smokes, and Jimmy is totally obnoxious. But just when Dan thinks he can't stand it anymore, Kay and Jimmy leave, and Dan discovers, to his surprise, that he misses them--just a little. Scenes between Jimmy and Dan give the book much of its humor, with Dan alternately whining and being righteously indignant. Betsy James' cartoon drawings are just right; they portray the beleaguered Dan in all his misery. Chris Sherman