The Horn Book Guide

EASY READERS

McMullan, Kate

Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day

40 pp. | Dial | March, 2009 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8037-3085-4 $14.99

(2) K-3 Dial Easy-to-Read series. Illustrated by R. W. Alley. Everybody seems clued in that it's April Fools' Day except mouse Wagner. The challenges that result are presented in three satisfying chapters. Though he's a little slow on the uptake, Wagner manages to get the last laugh. McMullan's easy-reader text has a reliable partner in Alley's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations that add a gentle pastel wash to the sometimes-painful schoolyard jockeying.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009