Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything (Ruby Lu #2)

Gr 1-3 Ruby Lu takes her role as Smile Buddy to her deaf cousin, Flying Duck, so seriously that her work suffers, dooming the second grader to a vacation marred by summer school and a repeat of last year -s swimming lessons. She is also dealing with the ups and downs of her relationship with her sometimes-best-friend, Emma. In the first two chapters, Ruby Lu -s feelings about her cousin -s arrival from China fluctuate from loving to disliking to accepting. Simple sentence structure, clear but varied word choice, and attention-grabbing transitions create a smooth chapter book that is suitable for early and reluctant readers. Black-and-white cartoon drawings add emotion, characterization, and humor, showing, for example, the exaggerated water-safety gear that the feuding Ruby Lu and Emma wear in the waist-deep pool before learning to swim. Pleased with accomplishing all 7 goals on her 12-step summer plan, Ruby Lu realizes too late that she has forgotten her summer reading, leaving readers anticipating another book fresh with third-grade misadventures. With exuberant impulsivity yet earnest introspection, Ruby Lu invites readers into a contemporary world that honors differences while ultimately celebrating universal moments of childhood -friendship, school, and self-realization." -Julie R. Ranelli, Kent Island Branch Library, Stevensville, MD" Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.