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After thirteen-year-old Goody becomes a hero in his small town for saving a choking infant, he must cope with the pressures of fame and the schemes of his ambitious mother

Clifford's quick wit and likable characters have won the hearts of fans who revel in such gems as Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library, The Dastardly Murder of Dirty Pet, etc. In her new novel, Goodwin (Goody) Tribble laments his status as a hero, which he declares is false. Goody covets a low profile; his mother longs for someone famous in the family. When the boy saves a baby from choking, Mrs. Tribble alerts the press and Goody is featured in the local paper. Abetted by Goody's teacher, ``Iron Horse,'' his mother begins to groom her son to assume the presidency of the U.S., and swift developments from that maternal ambition bring Goody more grief. Only when he handles another emergency does Goody accept (modestly) pats on the back and even an invitation to appear on TV. In the story's end, he's off to work as a page in Congress, testing the sound of ``Congressman Goodwin Drake Tribble,'' and then . . . ? (811) Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.

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Gr 5-7 Goody and Heather's mother has decreed that her children must become U.S. President and an Olympic swimming medalist, respectively, for the sole purpose of giving her bragging rights. Even more ludicrous is the support she receives from the townspeople on furthering her plans for 13-year-old Goody's presidency. Goody, on the other hand, doesn't want to be famous. Fate is against him, for he saves a child from choking on a piece of candy, then breaks a classmate's potentially fatal fall from a ladder and even rescues an abused gorilla from a traveling circus, all of which are glowingly reported in the local and school newspapers. The characters are flimsy caricatures with the most believable person being the grandmother, who has a very minor part in the story. The basic plot could have made a good story, but it fails due to all of the events being blown out of proportion and the lack of character development. Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, S.C. Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.