BEANY (NOT BEANHEAD) AND THE MAGIC CRYSTAL

Beany—Bernice Lorraine Sherwin-Hendricks, the heroine from Don't Call Me Beanhead (1994)—is back. This time, Beany has a magic crystal that she believes holds one wish. Her dilemma is what to wish for. Should she use it to get the Sharing and Caring loving cup? Or to find the lost class hamsters? In five hilarious chapters—one of which recalls the plot of Jake Wolf's Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant? (1996) - -Wojciechowski takes familiar circumstances (getting lost, school pictures, and birthday parties) and shows them from a Beany's-eye view. Beany is the girl everyone wants for a friend: She's likable and well-intentioned without being a goody-goody. Her bossy best friend's makeover of Beany for school pictures, involving hair rollers, white magic marker, and duct tape, is fresh and funny, and puts Beany into the very good company of Ramona, Fudge, and Anastasia. Natti's black- and-white illustrations are right on target; readers will use their own magic crystals to wish Beany back again. (Fiction. 6-10)