Ruby Lu, Star of the Show

March 1, 2011

Gr 1-3-In her latest appearance, Ruby is ready to take on third grade. That's when classrooms are in the big kids' hall, students get to join clubs, and everything is written in cursive. Ruby isn't quite comfortable with all of the changes; show-and-tell has disappeared, and she finds herself worried about her dog at home without her. These adjustments prove small once she learns that her dad has lost his job. Her already frugal family needs to make more cost-saving calibrations, and the child finds herself not knowing how to deal with an increasingly depressed, stay-at-home dad and a working mom. Her grades slip and she worries about her parents arguing at night. While experiencing the ups and downs that go along with unemployment, Ruby knows she can count on her friends and family. Choi joins the series, peppering the pages with illustrations of Ruby and her friends to make this a fun easy chapter book despite the heavier issues.-Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2011

The irrepressible Ruby Lu is back and feeling the effects of the recession. A couple of generations after Beverly Cleary broached the subject in Ramona and Her Father (1977), Look allows the economy to affect her latter-day imp. In this installment, Ruby Lu and her cousin Flying Duck, who communicates in Chinese sign language, embark together on the exciting adventure that is the third grade. Things get complicated, though, when Ruby's mother gets a job selling shoes in the mall and turns over the household management to Ruby's recently unemployed father. As their once-organized world starts to fall apart, Ruby concocts some interesting schemes to improve the situation, some of which work and some of which turn into hilarious disasters. Although the overall tone is lighthearted, Look provides some real insight into the struggles a family faces when its main breadwinner is out of work, and she resists providing an easy resolution. By the end, it is clear that Ruby's family will survive the crisis but not without making some sacrifices and depending on each other more than ever. Fans of Sara Pennypacker's Clementine and Katy Kelly's Lucy Rose should definitely meet Ruby Lu. (Fiction. 6-10)

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