Third Grade Mix-Up

The Sidney & Sydney series debuts with a straightforward story alternately narrated by two classmates with homophonic names and a few shared interests. Sidney has traveled extensively with his family, and Sydney aspires to be a world traveler; they both love art museums; and—the clincher—they are mutual fans of the video game Galaxy Conquest. Both Jakubowski and Montalto flatter their audience’s sense of independence and autonomy: “I’m only eight years old, but it’s never too early to be fashionable,” image-conscious Sydney tells readers, while jokester Sidney, sitting alone at lunch, knows “that it’s really dorky to get a note from your mom when you are eight years old. But it did make me feel a little better.” (The stylish students in Jablonski’s full-color illustrations, meanwhile, look much older than eight, but what kids think of themselves and their peers as young?) After some early stumbles, the two third-graders become fast friends, a relationship that’s cemented as they try to make Halloween a success. Sidney’s narrative can be repetitive and Sydney’s melodramatic, but readers should appreciate the book’s contemporary tone and humor. Ages 6–8. (Feb.)