THE LUCKY DAY

It’s both the first day of spring and the last day before spring break, and the students of the beachside town of Seashell Key are having trouble focusing.

The first of this chapter book’s four “acts” finds Mateo interrupting math class to ask how to make a leprechaun trap. Mr. Leo guides the students through an arts and crafts project; after all, “making a leprechaun trap is a kind of math problem with shapes.” After recess, the kids return to the classroom to find that the trap has caught something unexpected. Act II moves to the classroom next door, where science-minded Sasha suggests that they all work on the school garden. While the class gardens, Sasha’s more free-wheeling sister, Sophia, unzips her backpack to reveal a delightful surprise. The third act opens on yet another classroom, where Elana finds a map of the school; with help from their teacher, the students follow it to the library. The fourth story ties everything together as the students spend art class making hats that reference their favorite moments from the earlier tales. Throughout the book, kindly teachers willing to go with the flow nurture the curiosity of their bright, engaged students. In both style and length, the writing is consistently child-friendly, with key narrative details conveyed in the energetic artwork. Mateo is dark-skinned, Sasha and Sophia present Black, Elana appears white, and the supporting cast is diverse.

Sure to have young readers smiling.