ADVENTURE ANNIE GOES TO WORK
by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Amy Wummer
It’s Adventure Annie to the rescue! Clad in her crimson adventure cape, matching red boots, blue skirt and yellow sparkle tights, Adventure Annie, superheroine extraordinaire, is unfazed when Mommy tells her that instead of playing this Saturday, they’ll be going to the office for a Big Report Treasure Hunt to find a missing document. This energetic tale, peppered with superhero-like phrases (“I ziggle up and down the halls. I zaggle round corners and under chairs”), is well-matched by Wummer’s colorful, child-friendly pencil-and-watercolor pictures, which are filled with movement and zip. They show Annie armed with a vivid imagination and a no-nonsense strategy, as she sets out to save the day by drawing a map and ferreting out the report by methodically searching through a sea of manila envelopes and the jungle of the copy-room floor. A strong mother-and-daughter story with an exuberant lead, this uplifting selection is full of everyday fun as well as being a nice depiction of the usefulness of organizational and map-making skills. A winning choice for both classroom and home. (Picture book. 4-7)