The Last Holiday Concert

October 11, 2004
Clements's (The Report Card
) latest school-centered novel introduces Hart Evans, the most popular boy in school ("Hart could have charmed the hairnet off a cafeteria lady"). He hates sixth-grade chorus; while the chorus practices for the upcoming holiday concert, the bored boy shoots two elastic bands that hit the teacher, Mr. Meinert. The man hustles Hart to the principal's office, and readers then discover something that Hart does not know: because of budget cuts, the chorus director's job is being terminated at semester's end. His patience strained by this and by his class's lack of interest, the teacher snaps and hands responsibility for the concert to the students ("It's not my concert. It's your
concert. You don't like the songs I've picked? Fine. Pick your own"). After the students elect Hart as director, the teacher looks on with understandably mixed feelings. Meanwhile, as the boy panics about the approaching concert, his diplomacy gives way to bossiness that lands him in trouble with his peers. The third-person narrative focuses on both boy and teacher, and some readers may grow impatient with the sections that reveal Mr. Meinert's feelings. It comes as no surprise that—with Meinert's help—the concert is an unparalleled success. Though the account of the culminating event and of Hart's farewell to the teacher are affecting, Clements's fans may find that this belabored tale does not live up to his best performances. Ages 8-12.

October 1, 2004
Gr 4-7 -Sixth-grader Hart Evans's least-favorite class is chorus, where uptight Mr. Meinert makes them sing boring songs. When Hart shoots a couple of rubber bands at the teacher, the man overreacts and is angry when the smooth-talking boy gets off relatively unscathed. Although the class is not told, readers learn that Mr. Meinert will lose his job after January 1 because of budget cuts. When the students act up the next day, he snaps and decides to place the responsibility for the holiday concert in their hands. This sets in motion a series of events that leaves Hart running the show with the teacher watching, learning, and eventually helping out. The plot unfolds to encompass control issues, democratic procedures, and an end product that wows the crowd. Clements is a master at taking elements of relatively common school situations and turning them into masterful stories with truly engaging characters. Foreshadowing provides glimpses of the program during the chapters leading up to the conclusion, but the climactic description of the event will leave youngsters teeming with emotion. The book's accessible language and quick pace will also appeal to reluctant readers.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2004
Gr. 4-6. After Hart shoots a rubber band at Mr. Meinert, he finds that the chorus teacher is not just annoyed but furious. Unbeknownst to Hart, all the faculty art and music positions have been eliminated, and Mr. Meinert will not be returning after the winter holiday concert. When the teacher unexpectedly turns the concert planning and preparation over to the students, they vote to make Hart their leader. This entertaining novel relates Hart's ups and downs in his challenging new role. The story also delves into the problems and emotions of Mr. Meinert and, to a lesser extent, Hart's younger sister. These shifts in viewpoints and sympathies are unusual and to some extent enlightening, but the narrative always reverts to Hart's thread of the story, which children will probably find most involving. Many school stories focus on underdogs; this one expresses the concerns of a boy who is popular, yet still under stress. Convincing in its portrayal of middle-school life, this accessible novel will find a ready audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2005
Sixth-grader Hart can't resist the temptation to enliven the boring holiday chorus rehearsals with a few rubber-band assaults, but the music teacher is getting laid off right after the concert, and a misfired rubber band is just the catalyst to make him very, very angry. The popular Clements achieves a judicious balance of teacher-student conflict, school comedy, and seasonal pathos in this lively crowd-pleaser.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2004
Sixth-grader Hart is a good kid, but kind of cocky, and the temptation to enliven the boring holiday chorus rehearsals with a few rubber-band assaults is too strong to resist. But what Hart doesn't know is that the music teacher, Mr. Meinert, is getting laid off right after the concert, and that a misfired rubber band is just the catalyst to make him very, very angry. The popular Clements achieves a judicious balance of teacher-student conflict, school comedy, and seasonal pathos in this lively crowd-pleaser.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)