Lunch Will Never Be the Same!

August 15, 2014
List-making foodie Phoebe G. Green adjusts to the addition of a new best friend. Phoebe and Sage ("who's a boy, if you were wondering") are best friends. They are both excited about being in Mrs. B's third-grade class this year. Also exciting is the addition of a new girl, Camille, from France. Phoebe is especially taken with Camille at lunchtime, when the kids compare lunches. Camille brings duck, goat cheese, strawberries and a tiny loaf of bread-and that is just on the first day! Phoebe becomes obsessed with Camille's interesting food and makes a plan to get invited to her house, where she imagines gold goblets full of fabulous food. The plan involves inviting Camille over to Phoebe's first, but the girl's fancy menu falls flat (her family is more a salad-from-a-bag family). While Phoebe is focused on Camille and her food, original best buddy Sage is pushed to the background, even though his mother does cook Indian food. Hiranandani has a light touch when exploring the friendship issues of these three likable characters. Nothing is over-the-top, and the plot is fun and easy to understand for the newest chapter-book readers. Gently humorous black-and-white illustrations pair nicely with the text. With all the foodies out there, this delightful series deserves a long shelf life...and many more courses. (Fiction. 7-11)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-When a girl from France enters Phoebe's third-grade class, she brings an exotic lunch to school. Sage makes fun of it, but Phoebe tries it and really likes it. When she discovers that Camille's family eats fancy food all the time because her dad is a chef, Phoebe becomes determined to get invited for dinner. Her mother explains that she must first invite Camille to her house, but Phoebe is embarrassed because her family eats only plain food like spaghetti, meatloaf, and leftovers. To make matters worse, Sage is acting jealous and wants nothing to do with the newcomer. Can Phoebe find a way to keep her old friend as well as the new? Will she succeed in her exotic dinner dreams? The characters are a little unrealistic and one-dimensional at times, but the plot is engaging and easy to follow. The cartoon illustration, some full page, funny and enhance the text. Fans of Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody or those who like realistic fiction and friendship stories will enjoy this chapter book.-Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Grades 1-3 Curious third-grader Phoebe G. Green is an incessant list maker and Sage's BFF. On the first day of school, Phoebe befriends Camille, a new student from France. At lunch, Phoebe notices that Camille's luncha tiny loaf of bread, bleu cheese, a salad with duck meat, and strawberriesis exotic compared to her soggy, mushy noodles. After several lunch comparisons, Phoebe invites her new friend to dinner to prove that they eat like the French, too. The preparation and dinner are adorably disastrous, but Mom comes to the rescue and soothes her daughter's disappointment by explaining that differences between friends are meant to be celebrated. Meanwhile, Sage feels neglected and confronts Phoebe about Camille. Again Mom offers good advice and lets Phoebe know that it's okay to have more than one friend. This is a splendid attempt to convey several lessons about growing pains to young readers, with age-appropriate humor via an outspoken, lovable, take-charge narrator. Dreidemy's wiggly spot illustrations, meanwhile, supply plenty of nervous energy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)