THE BEST BUG TO BE
by Dolores Johnson & illustrated by Dolores Johnson
The author-artist of 1991's appealing What Kind of Baby- Sitter Is This? presents a wholesome resolution to another real- life situation: making the best of an allotted part in a school play. When Kelly (an African-American) doesn't get a starring role, she suffers her own disappointment, as well as the jibes of more successful classmates. Still, with parental encouragement, she resolves to do her best as a bumblebee and is rewarded not only with deserved applause but by seeing the butterfly and ladybug (who have teased her) trip and fall during the performance. Johnson nicely captures the feelings of the multicultural group in her good-humored watercolors. (Picture book. 4-8)