THE CURSE OF THE TROUBLE DOLLS

Angie Wu's Guatemalan Trouble Dolls are in great demand among her fourth-grade classmates: Marybeth Rosario hopes to win an important soccer game; Matthew Tallerico wants an A on a spelling test without studying for it; Ginger would like contact lenses; and Brooke wants a new job for her dad. When the Trouble Dolls don't make their wishes come true, they all blame Angie—what's worse, they manage to lose or destroy her dolls. Meanwhile, Angie's greatest trouble is that she's forgotten to do the research for her class report. She breaks the curse of the Trouble Dolls by dashing off one without notes—in attempting to find out about the dolls' origins, she's inadvertently learned about Guatemala. Though rather slight, with a silly boy/girl subplot, this does subtly demonstrate the idea that magical thinking is a poor substitute for initiative and self-reliance. Short paragraphs, short chapters, and undemanding vocabulary (except for a few Spanish words) may appeal to less ambitious readers. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-10)