Staying with Grandmother: 9 (Dutton Easy Reader)

Clair feels less homesick after Grandmother reads a favorite story and introduces a new friend.

Grade 1-3-Claire isn't sure she is going to enjoy staying with Grandmother, but after she settles in, helps her around the house, and meets a girl her own age, she thinks, "...tomorrow will be a good day." Baker's tale, while warm and comforting, is a monotonous read, with short sentences whose structures seldom vary. Schachner's watercolors enhance the gentle aspects of the short chapters, but do not add enough interest to this overworked tale to make it a first choice.
Sharron McElmeel, Cedar Rapids Community Schools, IA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

After Clair's parents kiss her good-bye, she feels sad; but she shares a hug with Grandmother (who looks sad, too) and goes upstairs to put her things in her mother's old room before helping to set the table (the macaroni ``is good. But I like the way my mother makes it better''). The quiet narrative, with dialogue limited to rather formal exchanges in the beginning, nicely evokes the feelings of a thoughtful child who's not quite familiar enough with her grandmother to be at ease in her home. Still, as Schachner's sensitively limned illustrations suggest, Grandmother may be reticent but she does understand how Clair feels. After supper, she introduces her to her ``special friend'' Jennifer, Clair's age; later, she reads to Clair from her mother's copy of Alice in Wonderland and finds her her mother's treasured toy ``White Rabbit'' to take to bed. A well-crafted story, gently suffused with affection. (Easy reader. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.