CLASS PETS

Flamboyant, self-confident Missy is back for a second outing for transitioning readers.

Missy has decided that it’s her turn to take some class pets home, and the perfect pets for her are the class rats. (This classroom is well-equipped with pets.) The only problem is that she has to convince her mother—using age-appropriate persistence, of course. Unfortunately, the new girl in class, equally self-confident and stubborn Tiffany, also plans to bring home Eenie-Meenie, Miney and Moe. The girls’ nose-to-nose confrontations and behind-the-scenes scheming are capably depicted in full-color, cartoonlike illustrations that match well with the text and effectively capture the humor of Missy’s hyperbole. Missy’s adventures seem destined to strike a chord mostly with girls, although her exuberant school experiences could amuse a wider audience. How does Missy work out her issues with Tiffany? It turns out her rival for rodent affection didn’t know that the little critters were rats. “AAUGHH!” she screams. No lessons on learning to compromise here.

An amusing and attractive early chapter book that will be popular with girls anxious to project reading competency to competing classmates.