Charles Synyard (@CharlesSynyard)

1/4 The perfect first date in Taffy Sinclair and the Romance Machine Disaster (1987), by Betsy Haynes. Yesterday finished this fourth book in the Taffy Sinclair series, and honestly, it’s just amazing, way better than a mere themed entry in what was getting to be a monthly grade school girls’ series has any ought to be. Yet it has picturesquely beautiful moments of what should be everyday life, lessons about the natures of the sexes, and manages to be a very fun read. I ended up having so many favorite moments, four posts will be required to showcase everything just too good to miss (and alas, the book started coming apart And the cover! The unnamed artist really outdid himself this time! It depicts an event early on, so I’ll explain in the first post. This is everything book art should be. See, at the end of Taffy Sinclair, Queen of the Soaps, Randy Kirwan—the handsomest, best-liked guy in Mark Twain Elementary (about which, see more in part 2)—asks protagonist Jana Morgan to see him at the Saturday football game, then meet him at Mama Mia’s Pizzeria, a popular hangout for elementary schoolers (must be fun, but personal memory, I can only remember attending one school with an associated “everybody who’s anybody goes there” eatery; I never darkened the doors). Jana is nervous, and the anxiety is even greater when Randy scores three touchdowns: “How does it feel to have a date with the star of the game?” (17) Thankfully, everything goes just, just right on this glorious date, which is charmingly shown on the cover. Jana is just enjoying herself and looks so enamored, just staring at Randy, who looks very much The Big Cheese, cool and confident as he speaks to the girl he likes. I think blonde beauty Taffy Sinclair and her friends are seated further away in the book, but how dramatic this is! Behind her is her homely groupie Mona Vaughn; the boys are Mark Peters and Scott Daly, Randy’s two best friends, but not intruding on the hot date (that look on their faces though! Is it, “I dare you to touch Taffy’s behind!” ”Oh, yeah? Well I double dog dare you to flip her skirt!”) So jealousy rides high, and for good reason. “Usually Taffy was the envy of every girl in the sixth grade, but now it was me.” (23) Also on that page, I love the detail, “We even ate all the ice out of the cups.” Back to the cover. Look closely at the drinks, and you’ll see that Jana’s has a straw, but Randy’s doesn’t. That is intentional. By now, I am getting used to Haynes’s humorous and heartfelt little details, that complete an already perfect picture like a second cherry on top. Wanting a souvenir, Jana nabs Randy’s straw! “His lips had touched it. I closed my eyes and imagined touching my lips to the same place. It would be almost like a kiss” (24), and “That night I slept with Randy’s straw under my pillow where I could touch it anytime I wanted to” (25). I like how it feels so special, that she can’t bring herself to tell her friends, she keeps it a secret. Such an ideal depiction of young romance, that I think is a nice touchstone for love at any age, that is somehow changed without really being different. #BetsyHaynes #TaffySinclairAndTheRomanceMachineDisaster #TaffySinclair #jealousy #envy #romance #love #dating #coverart #art #childrensliterature #childrensbooks #literature #books