Lesley Choyce, an accomplished Nova Scotian writer for adults and young people, turns his hand to chapter books in Pottersfield’s new reading series of first novels for kids. In this unlikely, fast-moving tale, pre-pubescent Fred goes from obscurity to media star and back again, in less than 50 pages. Here’s the plot: Fred wants to be famous, so he calls the local TV station, auditions for a bean commercial, and overnight is on the road to renown. He doesn’t even like beans – his sudden celebrity comes about “all because I told the world a fib.” But his schoolmates are impressed, because you get big bucks for being on TV, and everyone knows your face. Adults, too, respect your earning power: they take you out of class to go to shoots and let you buy $500 running shoes.

Fred’s progress is illustrated by Jill Quinn, whose work is also featured in the previous title in the series, Sheree Fitch’s Hullabaloo Bugaboo Day. Quinn’s drawings are anything but sophisticated: manic, zany yet oddly stiff, they favour catastrophe, floods, and deflation of pompous adults. It’s just what a nine-year-old reader is likely to find funny (though Quinn’s Fred certainly is a strange-looking kid).

Fred isn’t quite as cynical as he likes to pretend, and once the novelty wears off, he gets back in touch with his conscience. He is offended by his grinning face selling beans on-screen right after news about a horrible earthquake in Costa Rica. When his career path takes him from beans to Brussels sprouts to stewed tomatoes, Fred draws the line. Happiness hasn’t much to do with fame after all, he decides: what matters is being part of a loving family, learning interesting things in school, and having a loyal dog. Kids will no doubt enjoy Famous At Last; in its subtext about the nature of television, they may even find food for thought.