Rich and Famous: The Further Adventures of George Stable

by James Lincoln Collier

After being discovered during a six-second spot on television, George Stable is now being groomed into the hot new singing sensation, "The Boy Next Door." Unfortunately, his dad has other plans for him for the summer, so George must weave a wacky web of deception - that might just get him killed! - in order to get his music career off the ground.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

James Lincoln Collier (born June 27, 1928) is a journalist, author, and professional musician.

Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.

Reviews

[John Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how I've overlooked this sequel to THE TEDDY BEAR HABIT (one of my favorites) for the past 45 years. But after reading it, I have no regerts.

It's not that R&F isn't an enjoyable YA read. Super Agent Woody Woodward and Damon Damon the Button King join Georgie, his dad, and Stanky in enjoyably reprising their roles from the TBH. It's just that the story--WW gets George into development as a pop star without George's dad's knowledge--is slow to develop and doesn't have all the twists and turns of TBH. Remember George's teddy-bear related antics? T the stories Damon Damon told about the stars on the TV show? The hunt for the teddy bear at the thrift store warehouse? Nothing like that in R&F.

I'm betting there was more than a little pressure on Mr. Collier to produce this sequel. And the result is solid and enjoyable; as long as you're not expecting it to be another TBH.

Fun quote, from Damon Damon: "...but you'd be quite surprised at the number of people in the (music) business that actually care about music. Some of them are quite fond of it, really."

[Kathryn Rosenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never read this sequel to THE TEDDY BEAR HABIT, a book we loved and reread a lot when we were kids. This one is fun, though less charming without the old teddy bear. Some genuinely hilarious characters, notably the round and skinny PR men. Nico and I laughed a lot!