POLLY’S ABSOLUTELY WORST BIRTHDAY EVER

Polly is turning nine years old and her life, hilariously detailed in her own diary, is just as funny and dramatic as that of her older British cousins, Bridget Jones and Georgia Nicolson. She has chicken pox, her birthday party has to be postponed, her hamster refuses to eat and later turns up dead, and her little sister Mopsy is completely annoying. While younger readers might be unfamiliar with such Britishisms as “trainers” (sneakers), “sick up” (vomit), and “snog” (kiss), they will enjoy figuring it all out with the ample visual clues. Droll, delightful collages accompany each breezy journal entry. A combination of childlike pencil illustrations, magazine cut-outs, clip-art, and family photos provide the just-right response to the frenetic, yet completely believable, events of Polly’s young life. Happy Birthday, Polly, and may you (and your grateful readers) have many more! A rare treat for new readers. (Fiction. 8-12)