This debut title in Giff’s Zigzag Kids series introduces a large cast of characters who gather at the Afternoon Center of Zelda A. Zigzag School. Written with quick sentences, short paragraphs and brief injections of dialogue, the story moves rapidly and is enhanced by Bright’s periodic illustrations. (His portraits of the main players at the beginning of the book also provide a helpful reference.) Anxious new kid Mitchell’s first days at the elementary school are the focus of this first volume. Even though he wears the I’m Number One T-shirt that Nana gave him, he struggles to make friends and show big sister Angel he can take care of himself. As the week progresses, Mitchell gets caught up in antics at the center and worries if he will ever fit in or be good at anything. But Prize Day brings a medal for writing, the admiration of his sister and the discovery of new friend Habib. New chapter-book readers will easily relate to the various troubles and anticipations of this diverse crew. Sequel Big Whopper publishes simultaneously (ISBN: 978-0-385-74688-5; PLB: 978-0-385-90926-6; paper: 978-0-553-49469-3). (Fiction. 6-9)
