Just when things seem to be working out for Emma, a new dilemma arises for her family. Annie, the nanny, announces she’s leaving for a three-week trip to Ireland. Will Annie really come back? Will a new nanny be hired in the interim? Worse still, will the new nanny impress Mom and Dad more with her organized, practical ways? All these fears surface when Mrs. Potts appears for training, and her no-nonsense approach sends distress signals to Emma. Eager to find a way to keep Annie from leaving, Emma employs her usual creative strategies, resulting in unexpected complications through unsettling and unwanted scenarios. Simultaneously, Emma finds herself in a different sort of pickle, when she “borrows” a book that gets ripped to shreds by her pet ferret before she can secretly return it and another classmate is falsely accused of its theft. Hermes’s second volume in this head-shaking, funny series sheds light on a child’s naïveté despite her bold and impulsive actions. Emma’s blunders get her into a bit more trouble this time, yet she learns to accept Annie’s needs, be less selfish about her own, and admit her poor judgment’s effect on others. An engaging sequel with a captivating protagonist. (Fiction. 8-10)
