MISS KIRBY'S ROOM
By
The big event in Miss Kirby's room was the theft of Nick's dollar bill. For two days everyone waited for the dollar to be returned, and then Susan saw Jamie, her ""practically best friend"" sneak in early to replace the money. Jamie, who was extremely tomboyish, didn't have any girl friends outside of Susan, the most likeable girl in the class. Susan didn't really mean to squeal on Jamie, but she was upset and she confided the circumstantial evidence to another friend who turned the sedate ivy covered primary grade into a hot grapevine. Jamie was throughly ostracized before it was discovered that Jamie had't committed the crime but had simply tried to make peace in the tense room. The story does offer a clear object lesson in the dangers of gossip-mongering but the text is humorless and the theft seems very petty. Readers may wonder more about Jamie's eccentricities than the missing dollar. Very easy to read, this is for second and third graders only.