The Princess of Phillmore Street School (Young Piper) - Softcover

Born in Portland, Maine, in 1928, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat dreamed of becoming a writer. Little did she know that she would be the author of more than 130 books for children of all ages, which have been translated into 17 languages. Another of her childhood dreams, that of becoming a detective, has also been realized in her most popular Nate the Great series, begun in 1972. Many of Sharmat's books have been Literary Guild selections and chosen as Books of the Year by the Library of Congress. Several have been made into films for television, including Nate the Great Goes Undercover, winner of the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival Award. Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden has been named one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. Her She lives with her husband in Tuscon, Arizona.

Mitchell Sharmat, a graduate of Harvard University, has written numerous picture books, easy readers, and novels. He is best known for the classic Gregory, the Terrible Eater, a Reading Rainbow Feature Selection and a New York Times Critics’ Pick. In his honor, The Sharmat Collection, displaying the books he has written, was established at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by the Munroe C. Gutman Library.

Denise Brunkus is a children’s book illustrator. She has illustrated more than 60 books, including the wildly popular Junie B. Jones series and Read All About It! by Laura and Jenna Bush.

Grade 2-4-- A slow moving story with little substance. Olivia Sharp is an "Agent for Secrets," but those expecting a detective story will be disappointed, for Olivia is more of a social worker than an investigator. Her "case" involves few secrets since her client Desiree wants to be Princess of the Fillmore Street School, and everyone knows it. Desiree makes herself obnoxious by insisting that everyone be as perfect as she is. Olivia "solves" the case initially by giving Desiree money for her various projects designed to promote perfection. Since Olivia is wealthy and independent, doling out cash is no problem. Her parents are in Europe and the only adults around--a housekeeper and a chauffeur--exist merely to feed her or to provide transportation. If all this sounds unrealistic and irresponsible, it is. When Olivia finally convinces Desiree to give up her campaign by just telling her that she can't be perfect and bossy, one wonders why that didn't happen 40 pages earlier. The black-and-white illustrations are sprightly, but add little to the colorless plot. Young readers interested in real secrets should stick with Sharmat's own "Nate the Great" series (Coward) or Elizabeth Levy's "Something Queer" series (Delacorte). --Lori A. Janick, Parkwood Elementary School, Pasadena, TX
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