Pap's dog Mud has apparently eaten the hamster that Junior borrowed from his classroom for the weekend, what can be done?

Cute story about an eccentric family, with believable characters and situations. I'll be looking for more books by this author. ( )

Thrift store discovery. I've read several by Byars, but I never knew about the Blossom family stories. In this installment, my favorite character is Ralphie, a neighbor boy. I'm definitely going to try to go back and read the rest of the series. ( )

“Wanted . . . Mud Blossom” written by Betsy Byars is a mystery set in rural America. The main character Junior brought home a school hamster and it has gone missing. In addition, Mad Maggie has also gone missing; Maggie Blossom and her boyfriend Ralphie find clues that may indicate Mad Maggie was taken against her will. The book is easy to read, and it revolves around an eccentric family who are trying very hard to behave like a “normal” family. However, there is a positive and a negative to being a Blossom; they may not live out predictable traditional roles, but they live interesting lives full of creativity. Junior gets to invent things such as wings for flying, coyote traps, and UFO’s. Anything goes in this story, and anything can happen in a world where characters are allowed to live outside the social mores.
Ages: 4th- 7th grade ( )