MAX AND JAX IN SECOND GRADE

Max and Jax are an amiable pair of second graders—incredibly amiable, considering that they are twin alligators. Nolen’s (Big Jabe, 2000, etc.) newest characters in this early reader are endeavoring their best to start their summer vacations off on the right foot. Jax has her friends all lined up for a big sleepover, and Max has got a fishing trip arranged with his dad. Max likes nothing more than fishing, even though everyone out-fishes him ten to one. He has sent away for a special lure—“guaranteed to work”—for his trip with his dad, but his sister makes him some of her special fishing bait just in case. (Recipe on the back cover for the stout-of-heart.) Now, that’s sisterly. Sure enough, the guaranteed lure fails to produce, but the special bait does the trick. Max—along with his dad’s encouragement—decides to bring the big rainbow trout home to Jax. The big fish disgusts her friends, but it’s Jax’s favorite treat. Schmidt’s (What Do You Love?, 2000, etc.) watercolor art, though accomplished, may be a shade puerile for early readers, but Nolen’s twins have plenty to offer, such as an example of harmony in the household, and the real gift: generosity. (Easy reader. 6-9)