THE SILVER SPOON OF SOLOMON SNOW

Foundling Solly searches for his origins in a humorously Dickensian world. Solly works for his parents’ laundry business, where his prissy manners stand out in his poverty-stricken village. He’s shocked to discover he arrived on his parents’ doorstep in a raging blizzard with a silver spoon in his mouth, and leaves home questing for his true parents. Accompanied by Prudence, the local poacher’s daughter, and the Infant Prodigy, a lisping circus child, Solly confronts overly affectionate kidnappers, a silver-loving orphanage matron and The Dirtiest Boy in the World. The conclusion of Solly’s story is an amusingly unexpected note in a seemingly conventional adventure. Despite some excesses—the Infant Prodigy’s speech impediment quickly goes beyond funny to annoying—this over-the-top parody of Oliver Twist–type adventures is a good giggle. (Fiction. 9-12)