Of Mice and Nutcrackers

Readers first met the Peeler family as they went on a hilarious summer road trip in The Way to Schenectady. Now winter has come and with it the school holiday pageant. Jane Peeler, who loves to be the boss at all times, is directing her class production of The Nutcracker. All does not go as well as she planned as she finds the plot of the presentation creeping into her own life. First, there are problems at school, caused by a gym teacher who wants the gym for basketball, not for rehearsal space. Then there's a budding romance in the cast. At home, Dad has come down with an illness, and Grandma -- grumpy, chain-smoking, profane Grandma -- comes back on the scene as a reluctant baby-sitter to Jane and her younger brothers Bill and Bernie. The fun that ensues is pure Scrimger, and is sure to delight his legion of fans.