I REPEAT, DON’T CHEAT!

Worrywart Jessica has a new, unexpected problem: Her best friend, Lizzie, has begun copying off Jessica’s spelling tests and lying about the rules of games. When they work on their homework together, somehow Lizzie gets Jessica to write her T-word poem for her. When Lizzie steals Jessica’s math money, Jessica can’t hold it in anymore. A talk from Mr. Martin and some time at the thinking desk for Lizzie restores the girls’ BFF status. While Cuyler captures the pain felt by a child when betrayed by a best friend, she provides no back story to account for Lizzie’s wrongdoing, which will mystify readers, and their sudden detente is unsatisfying. Howard’s cartoons are pleasing, but the two girls are regrettably similar in look, making it difficult to tell the adversaries apart. A misstep. (Picture book. 5-9)