Elizabeth Levy loves to tell stories that combine serious issues with humor. She has proven it with her award-winning books for young readers, including
My Life As A Fifth-Grade Comedian, Keep Ms. Sugarman In The Fourth Grade, and other best-selling books in the Sam and Robert series, including
Frankenstein Moved In On The Fourth Floor and
Dracula Is A Pain In The Neck. She lives in New York City.
Gr. 3-6. Ten-year-old Eve rues the day when she begged her parents for a baby sister or brother. Now she contends on a daily basis with her five-year-old twin sisters, Amy and May. The "gruesome twosome" causes her plenty of grief--invading her room, stealing and breaking her prize possessions, leaving a mess wherever they go, and embarrassing Eve along the way. As Eve keeps saying, "I only ordered one." But life gets worse when her parents decide to attend a twins festival. This excursion is only palatable because Eve's two cousins will also attend. Mistaken for triplets, the cousins decide to take the talent show by storm. Waiting backstage, Eve feels surprisingly bad when Amy and May flop during their talent segment. As the three older girls come to the twins' rescue, Eve learns what being a family (and a big sister) really means. Levy's simple, humorous story, told quickly in 10 chapters, works primarily because Eve finds absolutely no humor in her situation, even though everyone else does. Kathy Broderick
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