BEANY AND THE DREADED WEDDING

This latest Beany adventure (Beany [Not Beanhead] and the Magic Crystal, 1997, etc.) has all the ingredients that made Wojciechowski’s previous tales such rousing successes. Being the flower girl in her favorite cousin’s wedding has the anxiety-ridden Beany in a tizzy. Cousin Amy is the next best thing to a sister for Beany, so despite her many misgivings, Beany is determined to do the job properly. With the wedding several months away, she has plenty of time to ponder the many pitfalls that lurk ahead. In typical Beany-fashion, she worries about what she will wear, walking down the aisle, getting the perfect wedding present, and a multitude of other fears. Yet, Beany is full of pluck and determined to meet her troubles head-on. As always, Wojciechowski’s writing rings true. Beany’s concerns, ruminations, and antics are grounded in reality, revealing an innate understanding of young grade-school readers, who can readily relate to Beany’s keen yet comical observations. “Carol Ann is my best friend because we live on the same street and sit next to each other on the school bus, but sometimes I don’t really like her that much.” There are plenty of mishaps to keep readers laughing, such as Beany’s lemonade enterprise, which endures a hasty demise at the paws of the neighborhood canine menace. Natti’s black-and-white sketches, highlighting Beany’s misadventures, are a comical counterpart to the text. Fans and newcomers alike will be rooting for Wojciechowski’s intrepid heroine as she tackles her anxieties with grit and fortitude. (Fiction. 7-9)