Last-But-Not-Least Lola and a Knot the Size of Texas

by Christine Pakkala, Paul Hoppe (Illustrator)

Overview

In this fun-filled adventure, good-hearted Lola can’t help getting into trouble. Her friends are all traveling for the Thanksgiving holidays, so she offers to dog-sit—but fails to mention this to her mom. Now, Lola is juggling her dog-sitting responsibilities with her worries. Will her parents discover the growing knot in her hair and cause her excruciating pain brushing it out? Will her grandmothers discover that she’s lied to them every year about who makes the best pumpkin pie? Will Jack get so involved in his new babysitting and yard-work jobs that, like Mom and Dad, he won’t have time for her anymore? Lola’s worries, like the knot in her hair, grow greater until she finally has to stop hiding them and start untangling them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629798905
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	12/11/2018
Series:	Last-But-Not-Least Lola
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Christine Pakkala has an MFA in Poetry from Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught English in New York City. She lives in Westport, Connecticut. christinepakkala.com.

Paul Hoppe is an illustrator, designer, and author who teaches at the School of Visual Arts. His work has been published by the New York Times and the New Yorker. Born in Poland and raised in Germany, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York. paulhoppe.de.

Editorial Reviews

Hilarious Lola has a lot of problems, but the very biggest one—growing all the time—is the immense knot of snarled hair at the back of her head. What is a girl to do?... Lola's distinct, effervescent first-person narration includes the occasional definition—'Deluxe means you wish you had one'—and other funny thoughts that early grade school readers (and grown-ups) will laugh at. Hoppe's numerous charming illustrations enrich the presentation. Cheeky Lola is a well-balanced combination of exuberance and naïve vulnerability that charms and entertains.' —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2016-06-01
Hilarious Lola has a lot of problems, but the very biggest one—growing all the time—is the immense knot of snarled hair at the back of her head. What is a girl to do?Lola's strategy is to ignore it if at all possible. Getting that knot out is going to hurt. The very thought of it makes her wince (worry and squint at the same time). The trouble is her hair is naturally curly, and if it doesn't get properly brushed, as when her parents are too busy, then knots g-r-o-w. Another thing about Lola, who is white and Jewish but shares an elementary school class with a multicultural group, is that she likes to be kind, so she invites two of her second-grade classmates to drop their dogs off at her house so she can watch them over the busy Thanksgiving holiday. Even she knows that second dog is going to be a problem. Being kind also makes it very hard to tell one of her two competing grandmothers that her pumpkin pie tastes like "licking a candle." Lola's distinct, effervescent first-person narration includes the occasional definition—"Deluxe means you wish you had one"—and other funny thoughts that early grade school readers (and grown-ups) will laugh at. Hoppe's numerous charming illustrations enrich the presentation. Cheeky Lola is a well-balanced combination of exuberance and naïve vulnerability that charms and entertains. (Fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews