CLEVERSTICKS

Ling Sung doesn't like his new school: everyone else seems to be getting praise for their accomplishments, whether it's Manjit writing her name, Terry tying his shoes, or Sharon buttoning her coat. Ling Sung can't do any of those things; but after the teacher notices him picking up his broken cookie pieces with paintbrushes in lieu of the chopsticks he uses at home, she asks him to help everyone else learn his skill—and they share theirs with him. A pleasant, realistic getting-adjusted story, with a cheery multicultural class appealingly characterized in Brazell's colorful, unusually perceptive art. (Picture book. 3-7)