ROZ AND OZZIE
by Johanna Hurwitz & illustrated by Eileen McKeating
New to the neighborhood and to fourth grade, Roz Sasser is eager to make friends—but not with Ozzie Sims, her second-grade uncle who lives next door and follows her everywhere. Dismayed at having to spend so much time with her mother's pesky half-brother, Roz gradually finds that Ozzie is kinder and more resourceful than she is herself. Invited to dinner on ``microwave night'' (when Mrs. Sasser teaches), Roz and her dad enjoy yummy vegetable soup and oatmeal cookies that Ozzie has made. And when she's ready to back out of a long-awaited chance to get her ears pierced, Roz opts for pain over humiliation only to find the ordeal wasn't so bad, with Ozzie's hand to squeeze. Recognizing Ozzie's generous spirit, Roz finally reciprocates, not only when he needs help but because she comes to like him. Hurwitz captures the idiosyncracies of her characters with a deft hand. An appealing, comfortable read. (Fiction. 7+)