Hazel Green is one of my favourite characters in recent fiction for "middle school" readers, to borrow the (very useful!) US term for kids in (roughly) Year 4-8. She's such an indomitable spirit, and I love how the books each present an ethical dilemma that Hazel must grapple with. It's rare for books for this age group to explore ethics, and what is remarkable abpout Hirsch is that he does so without the novels ever becoming ponderous or worthy or teacherly. They are deeply moral, but never moralistic, and in my experience working in a children's bookshop a couple of years ago, very popular with a certain type of reader — readers who don't need constant action and scatalogical humour to keep them engaged, but who enjoy a more thoughtful experience, albeit one leavened with good humour and delicious, drool-inducing fantasy foods the like of which haven't been seen since Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree!

The dilemma in the fourth Hazel Green book, Think Smart, Hazel Green! is actually a little more legal than ethical than in the previous books. Her beloved Mr Volio, maker extraordinaire and creator of such delectable pastries as Chocolate Dippers, Caramel Crunches and Strawberry Combers, is about to be evicted from his shop. The new, anonymous owner of the bakery wants him out, no reason given, no need to — the lease is up. And there's no room for negotiation — Mr Volio has to leave. Hazel needs to find out who is behind this dastardly action. She suspects Mr Volio's rival, the surly Mr Murray who makes good bread, but can't compete with, and has always been jealous of Mr Volio's superb pastries, is behind it . But how is she to find out for sure? And when she does find out, what is she going to do to stop the eviction?

A wonderful sense of community embues all of the Hazel Green novels. Once again are present the Moodey Kids — the gagle of kids who live in Hazel's apartment building, the Moodey Building, who squabble and scheme amongst themselves, but band together fiercely against kids from other buildings. And whoever is forcing Mr Violio to leave his shop ion the Moodey Building is striking at the very heart of Hazel's community, indeed of her very world. Hazel thinks that any action taken to save Mr Volio's bakery is fair enough — but once again, she is made to think very carefully about the ethics — and efficacy — of her plan.

Think Smart, Hazel Green! is a very satisfying, well-crafted novel, as we have come to expect from Hirsch. There's never really any doubt that it will have a happy outcome, but it's how Hirsch gets us to that outcome — and the characters we meet along the way — that give his stories their unique charm. In Think Smart, I particularly like the law firm representing the mysterious new shop owner. (Actually, it's not that much of a mystery and it's solved early on — I won't reveal it here, but it's the actions Hazel takes to prevent the eviction once she knows who is responsible that are central to the novel's story and moral heart.) These lawyers first appear as your more or less stereotypical evil, heartless and legalistic types, but of course, in Hirsch's (and Hazel's) world, things — and people — are never that straightforward. Hazel's usual sidekicks are in place — the devoted Marcus Bunn, the super-intelligent Yakov (and his impossibly glamorous mother), who yet again puts his enormous brain to use to help Hazel solve her problems. Hazel's young rival amongst the Moodey kids, Leon Davis, is still throwing spanners into her works, and the miraculously gifted florist Mrs Gluck, is still making her extraordinary arrangements and simultaneously providing Hazel with things to ponder.

There's a great comfort returning to characters and settings we have come to know and feel a part of. I've always maintained that while the Hazel Green books are absolutely not fantasies, they share a kind of other-, more kindly-world feeling that is the attraction of a lot of fantasy for this age group. I personally think the best book of the series is still the third book, Have Courage, Hazel Green! (you can read my review of it here), in which Hazel's dilemma was utterly personal and intensely engaging. Nevertheless, Hazel's many fans will welcome her return (if only to drool over those pastries!), and if a particular scene where the Moodey kids stumble across a theatre not far from their building is any indication, I suspect we've got more adventures and challenges for Hazel and company ahead.