The William Problem (Puffin Chapters)

Liza hates third grade because she is separated from her best friend and she has mean Mrs. Rumford as her teacher, until she begins to make new friends.

Gr. 2-3. In this beginning chapter book, Liza Farmer finds herself in for a bad third-grade year. Her best friend, Heather, is getting too chummy with another girl; a new kid, Bridget, seems nice but may be too odd for the rest of the girls; and William Spear, the nerdiest kid in the third grade, is insinuating himself in Liza's life. Baker's short sentences and familiar situations should appeal to new readers, but none of the plot lines are satisfactorily tied up, and the whole ending seems rushed. The terrific dust jacket featuring Liza's mean old teacher glowering over her and William is a draw, but this is primarily for collections where beginning chapter books circulate widely. Ilene Cooper