The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery
*Starred Review* When we last saw Miss Penelope Lumley, governess to three wolflike children (but making tremendous strides!), she was trying to recoup after the Incorrigibles had brought Lord and Lady Ashton&#xFFFD;s Christmas ball to a disastrous halt. Now home renovations are needed, so the Ashton household is on the move to London, where Lady Ashton hopes she will be the belle of British society, and Penelope looks forward to civilizing the Incorrigibles further with trips to the theater and museums. But the undercurrent of &#xFFFD;something wicked this way comes&#xFFFD; and the signs of impending trouble for both governess and charges make the air here thick with (dreadful!) possibilities. Of course, there are some happier times in the city, too, as Penelope meets up with her beloved headmistress from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females and finds a new friend in a helpful, unemployed playwright. Questions about the children&#xFFFD;s backgrounds, Penelope&#xFFFD;s connections to them, and Lord Ashton&#xFFFD;s own wolfish behavior set the stage for the next act of this most excellent adventure, the follow-up to The Mysterious Howling (2010). Interior illustrations not seen, but no doubt they&#xFFFD;ll be most satisfactory. Grades 4-6. --Ilene Cooper