TOTALLY WONDERFUL MISS PLUMBERRY

Rosen is once again spot-on in addressing emotions. Molly sets out for school with a crystal, eager to show it to classmates, because it comes from “Grandma, over the water and far away.” At first, everyone’s interested, but then, “Russell r[uns] past waving a pink and green dinosaur,” and the crystal’s instantly forgotten. Molly feels abandoned and teary until totally wonderful Miss Plumberry claps her hands, calls everyone’s attention back to the crystal and admires it. Rosen powerfully highlights the arc of emotion with Molly’s anger, elegantly avoiding blatancy but simply stating, “And in a minute, a great big lion was going to run in and gobble everyone up. / Come on, lion. / Come on, lion, / thought Molly.” Lee’s pleasant watercolor-and-pencil illustrations have a light touch, nice colors and expressive faces and capture the details of Molly’s classroom with items familiar to the audience. (Picture book. 3-5)