JUST GRACE

A plan to cheer up her neighbor with postcards from her cat, Crinkles, lands third-grader Grace Stewart in trouble when the cat disappears. She has to admit she sent the cards and work with her least favorite person, Sammy Stringer, to find the missing pet. Just Grace—so named because she is the fourth Grace in her classroom—is an engaging and empathetic little girl who enjoys drawing, helping others and making lists. This gently humorous first-person story includes a number of these lists, such as seven things she knows and doesn’t know about Ms. Luther (scary older-kids teacher and also the lady next door) and four more things she learned about her from Augustine DuPre (the French flight attendant who lives in the basement). Short chapters are illustrated with Grace’s own work: occasional line drawings, the cat photocards and some not-so-superhero comics. An appealing chapter book with just a hint of mystery for middle-grade girls; a sequel is already in the works. (Fiction. 7-10)