cover image Big News!

Big News!

Ida Siegal, illus. by Karla Peña. Scholastic, $4.99 trade paper (128p) ISBN 978-0-545-68692-1

Siegal, a New York City television journalist, kicks off the Emma on the Air series by introducing Emma Perez, a half-Dominican eight-year-old who decides that becoming a reporter on TV is just the ticket to becoming famous. “I knew TV reporters were special,” think Emma, “and that’s what I wanted most. To be special.” Emma just needs a good story to jumpstart her career, and she finds it when someone sneaks a worm into a lonely classmate’s burger. Readers may solve this small mystery before Emma does, but it’s clear that Siegal’s heroine has all the personality and persistence necessary for a career in front of a camera (or between the pages of a chapter book). Ages 7–10. (Apr.)