School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters

April 19, 2010
Vail, who collaborated with Cordell on the picture book Righty and Lefty
, creates an endearing portrait of a third-grade worrywart in this slice-of-life novel written in diary form. At the onset of the school year, Justin K. (later nicknamed Justin Case) is plagued with concerns about his new teacher, his new haircut, and the possibility of losing his best friend (“because she is a girl and I am a boy”). Some of his anxieties prove to be unwarranted, and the year offers surprises both good and bad. After battling loneliness (when his favorite stuffed animal is misplaced) and fears (about getting beaten up and having to climb the rope in gym class), Justin realizes he has attained his third-grade goal of becoming “a little braver this year.” If the young hero's mishaps go on a bit long, they are universally recognizable and distinguished by observations and details that consistently ring true, from being told to “shake it off” on the soccer field to the horrible realization that all the “good kids” got put in the other class. Final art not seen by PW
. Ages 7–9.

May 1, 2010
Gr 2-4-Honest and full of heart, "Justin Case" is a story for an oft-ignored segment of kids: the sensitive, introverted, and observant. Those youngsters will see themselves in third grader Justin Krzeszewski, a full-blown worrywart with good intentions. He wants to be a good student. He wants to make friends. It's just that sometimes things don't work out, often with humorous results. Through his journal entries during the course of the year, readers see his changing friendships, embarrassments, a "be careful what you wish for" new pet, and the dreaded gym-class rope. His voice is authentic, and touches of playdates and "screen time" will ring true with today's youngsters. The format will remind many readers of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams), but with fewer illustrations and a more reflective tone than Jeff Kinney's series. Cordell's intermittent doodles pair nicely with the personal quality of the text. Readers who are looking for plot-driven excitement will have to look elsewhere. "Justin Case" is about the feelings that kids experience as they navigate the roller coaster of family and school life. This is subtly satisfying storytelling. No miraculous character overhaulsjust a boy growing up and, hopefully, becoming a bit braver."Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2010
Grades 3-5 Justin K. (for Krzeszewski), nicknamed Justin Case, has fairly standard third-grade worries (former best friends, rope climbing in gym) and pretty typical joys (current best friends, making it to the top of the rope). He expresses all of these in diary form throughout a school year, and his traditional nuclear family, which celebrates both Jewish and Christian holidays, supports him during all of the multiplication tables, violin lessons, soccer games, and dog messes. Vails previous works have primarily been for either younger (Sometimes Im Bombaloo, 2002) or older (Lucky, 2008) audiences, and here, the voice focused on this in-between age wavers a bit. In addition, the line drawings add humor, but are small and few and far between. Some readers may feel that Justin lacks the inherent charm of other peers, such as Lenore Looks Alvin Ho or Katy Kellys Melonhead, and they may find that Justins middle-class suburban life lacks drama. Others, though, will find comfort in Justins normalcy and in seeing that its OK to still love your stuffed animals, even when youre a fourth-grader-to-be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
Justin shares his third-grade year in an illustrated diary of drop-dead funny observations. He reveals his worries, even worrying "about what to worry about," but, predictably, third grade isn't the disaster Justin imagines. The diary format creates multiple starting and stopping places, the characters and situations cover familiar territory, and the narrative moves at a lively pace.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)