I read The Elf of Union Square by Jan Carr. From the title you can figure out that the main character is a elf and that the book takes place in Union Square. The elf’s name is Hiram and he has lived in Union Square Park for awhile. Hiram doesn’t like it that people are happy in the newly cleaned-up park so he has rigged Union Square with all sorts of boobytraps such as soap on the monkey bars and doo-doo in the walkways. A 10-year-old boy named Jack thinks something is going on in the park and decides to figure out what the deal is. He gets help from a reporter from The New York Times named Will. Hiram has a diabolical plan to get everyone in Union Square to fight and to yell at each other. He gets help with his plan from lots of rats who live in the park. Hiram’s main helper is a rat named Knut. Knut is especially good at soaping because he runs fast.

An important part in the book involves Hiram’s hat. It is important because the hobo named Lincoln (he’s called that because he thinks he is Abraham Lincoln) says that he’s seen Hiram before. To stop Lincoln from telling everyone more about him, Hiram puts a piece of soap in Lincoln’s pocket to frame him. A policewoman asks Lincoln to empty his pockets and when Lincoln does he finds the soap he didn’t know he had. Lincoln gets arrested. Hiram is mean spirited because he just wants people to fight and yell at each other. Hiram hides in a restaurant called Fare in the Square where all the kids hang out and he floods all the toilets with toilet paper when the kids are in the bathroom. The restaurant manager hates this and throws everyone out. Hiram is also very grumpy. He never listens to anybody. When Knut asks Hiram where he was born, Hiram cuts him off. But Hiram also develops a soft side in working with Knut. When Hiram figures out that there is rat poison in the park, he realizes that rats are dying so he runs to find Knut to make sure he is safe. Hiram is clever because he’s been putting boobytraps for years at Union Square Park and has never been caught.

I liked this book because it was funny and dumb. It was funny because who doesn’t want to read about people stepping in dog doo-doo? That part was pretty dumb , too. It’s also dumb because you don’t think of elves being friends with rats (and you don’t think of them talking, either). I would recommend this book to people who like humor and fictional characters. Also, people who like history might enjoy this book because it talks about Union Square from a long time ago. I think it’s similar to a TV show on the Disney Channel because it’s funny but not inappropriate. Otherwise, it would relate to Cartoon Network. I would rate this book 3 stars because it wasn’t my absolute favorite or even close to being one of my favorites.

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