ONLY EMMA

Third-grader Emma McGraw is an only child and she likes it that way. When her mother agrees to take care of four-year-old Anthony, Emma learns the blessings and challenges of having a sibling, if only a temporary one. Anthony is cute, Emma agrees, but boy is he annoying! He touches all her toys with his perpetually sticky hands, bends her puzzle pieces and throws tantrums when things don’t go his way. Anthony’s presence is also cramping her social style: Who would want to play at her little condo with a bratty little four-year-old boy? No wonder Emma longs for peace and quiet. Warner’s sassy first-person narrative soars with humor and self-pity, real conversations and real changes of heart. This is the first volume in a promised series; readers will want to find out more about Emma, her friend Cynthia and even little “brother” Anthony. Lots of fun. (Fiction. 7-11)