(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jiang Hong Chen. A child lists all the ways he hopes to change the world--by feeding the hungry, ending war, and stamping out earthquakes. To accomplish these things he acknowledges: "First I should learn to read and write." The rhymed text is occasionally thought-provoking but generally forced. More successful are Chen's Sendak-inspired Chinese-ink on rice paper paintings featuring dramatic shapes and abstract backgrounds.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 4-6 Translated by Gill Rosner. As she begins junior high, Margot struggles with difficult teachers and assignments, is named class representative, and takes a school trip to Rome. The omniscient narrative gives this French import a sometimes remote quality. Kids, however, will relate to Margot's rather grandiloquent angst.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Serge Bloch. Two slight but amusing stories focus on princesses with fervent desires--one wants to go to school like a normal kid, the other wants a prince who knows how to scratch her back properly--and both get their wishes in the end. Friendly black-and-white cartoons enhance the book's good-natured humor, which is lively enough to mitigate the stories' predictability.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) YA Translated by Gill Rosner. William is a bored and apathetic French high-school student. When a frustrated teacher begs him to share his dreams, William blurts out that he'd really like to see her panties. During his resultant three-day suspension, he undergoes a gradual awakening. Funny and unponderous, the book is so brief and concentrated that it's more like a fable than a realistic novel.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2001

(2) 4-6 Translated by Gill Rosner. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. The new fifth-grade teacher, Monsieur Noël, gives each child a book of coupons that excuse the holder for infractions of the rules. But the real gift he gives them is a love for learning--he will give them a "whole year of lessons for free." Morgenstern's witty and poignant tribute to great teachers everywhere proclaims what education should be about. Her message may be pointed, but no reader will be unmoved.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001

(2) 4-6 Translated by Gill Rosner. The new girl in Ernest's fifth-grade class--the "victorious, imperious, impetuous, and hilarious" Victoria--charges into the tomblike home he shares with his emotionless grandmother and dramatically alters his regimented life. With language that conveys the wit and sophistication of young sensible Ernest as the world of delight opens before him, Morgenstern leads us willingly--like Ernest to Victoria--from jubilation to greater jubilation.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998