JUST DESSERTS

The common perils of childhood propel the action in Durand’s second installment of her Dessert series, as her eponymous heroine, age eight, tries to solve the never-ending problem of annoying siblings. Children will easily identify with Dessert and her difficulties in this lively, always humorous story. Dessert isn’t the only character who’s encountering sibling difficulties: Her school friends find themselves even more plagued by their younger brothers and sisters than she. Ever innovative, Dessert starts a dues-paying club for the beleaguered group. However, as the money-collecting club president, she eventually realizes she can’t actually solve her friends’ problems. Worse, she spent the dues money on herself. The author deftly portrays both an active four-child family and Dessert’s well-run third-grade classroom. Every child comes across as a believable, real person. Young readers will recognize the range of common annoyances caused by the destructive siblings, such as damaged dolls and stolen tooth-fairy prizes. Davenier’s vivacious drawings easily capture the mood and enliven the characterizations. Lively fun well pitched to the young target audience. (Fiction. 7-10)