Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll Book

Based on the primetime PBS television special coming this fall, this tie-in book finds Arthur yearning to join a rock band started by Francine. But Arthur doesn't make it through the auditions and Francine chooses Molly, Binky, Fern, and Mrs. MacGrady instead. Then the Backstreet Boys come to Elwood City and change "everything!." Full color.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Arthur, Francine, and the Backstreet Boys? The cover of the book announces a "prime-time television special" tie-in. Francine starts a band called U Stink and it rises to fame immediately. Then she decides she wants to disband because the other members are going commercial. Meanwhile, Arthur and friends, who didn't make the cut (for good reasons), start a band of their own. They really do stink. When the Backstreet Boys (with appropriate animal ears) stage a concert in town, everyone wants U Stink to play with them on stage. Arthur and his friends have been favorites of children for a long time, and this offering is likely to be as popular as the rest of the series. The story has a moral twist, the characters are as lovable as ever, and the colorful cartoon illustrations are cheerful, but the inevitable question is: Is Arthur "selling out?"-Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DE Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.