cover image There's Boy/Grls Bathr

There's Boy/Grls Bathr

Louis Sachar, Stan Berenstain. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, $11.95 (195pp) ISBN 978-0-394-88570-4

Fifth grader Bradley Chalkers is bright, imaginative, antisocial and friendless. Unlike the kids at school, who hate him, Bradley's collection of chipped and broken little pottery animals allows him to be brave, smart and vulnerable; he uses them to resolve the rejection of peers and adults. Jeff, a new boy at school, offers friendship but then withdraws his offer, because Bradley is hard to like. Enter Carla Davis, new school counselor, who is caring and funny, and who gradually helps restore Bradley's self-confidence. Feelings and emotions are strongly evoked in this touching and serious story of a disturbed child that is infused with humor and insight. (10-12)