ALEX FITZGERALD'S CURE FOR NIGHTMARES

A move from Chicago to California to live with her father is enough to give Alex nightmares. Not only does it bother her that palm trees stay green the year-round, but little details like monster pictures on a new friend's lunchbox also inspire bad dreams. Being the pianist for a school play provides a distraction--but then someone writes ""babyfingers"" on Alex's music; she assumes that the culprit is deriding her nightmares and attempted cures. Eventually, with time for settling in and making friends, Alex's bad dreams come to a halt. The entire plot of this bland, brief ""Springboard Book"" pivots on the humiliation of being considered ""babyish""; budding readers are given little motive to discover Alex's solution to her problems. Even the nightmares are dull, while Trivas' informal illustrations are disappointingly slapdash.