It had to happen. The spunkiest sass mouth in room 9 finally graduated from kindergarten. Now the inimitable, irrepressible Junie B. is a first grader--at last! ("My name is Junie B. I think I have mentioned that to you before... B., B., B., B., B.")

The 18th installment in Barbara Park's popular beginning chapter-book series puts our temperamental heroine into a brand-new class where she has to make brand-new friends. And as if that weren't hard enough, her brand-new teacher, Mr. Scary ("He made that name up, I believe," Junie writes in a journal assignment), figures out that she needs eyeglasses. Will all the other kids laugh at her? Will that obnoxious Excellent-plus-getting May become even more obnoxious?

With Park's solid track record, the appeal of Junie B. just can't be doubted-she can be a good friend to readers her age, which is a difficult grade level to find fun books for. And even kids who don't need glasses will likely still giggle along as Junie B. plays "the E game" (an eye test) with the nurse, and kids who do need glasses will find themselves with a strong (if a little scared at first) ally. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes