Amber Brown Is Green with Envy

August 11, 2003
Paula Danziger's unsinkable heroine is put to the test in Amber Brown Is Green with Envy, illus. by Tony Ross, when Amber's dad spends time with his dates instead of her, and Mom and Max step up the wedding plans and consider moving to a new town. Danziger probes universal issues with her characteristic compassion and humor.

September 1, 2003
Gr 2-4-Fourth-grade Amber Brown is back, and she thinks that nothing in her life is fair, from her mom and aunt going to Disneyland without her to the many changes she must face within her family. Her mother and Max are planning their upcoming wedding, their new life together, and maybe even a future baby together and a new house, and Amber doesn't like it one bit. She's also angry at her father because he has a date. Then she must make a difficult decision when her mom and Max let her help choose between a new home with a swimming pool in a different town and a new, but "boring" house in a nearby neighborhood. Ross's black-and-white drawings show Amber's humorous facial expressions and her daily life. This upbeat and funny first-person narrative will keep readers hooked, even while Amber deals with the emotions that many kids her age experience. This title will be enjoyed by early chapter-book readers whether familiar with Amber or not.-Michele Shaw, Yorkshire Academy, Houston, TX

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2003
Gr. 2-4. From the popular series that began with " Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon" (1994), this accessible chapter book finds Amber in some distress as her divorced parents struggle to make new lives for themselves. On their weekend "together," Amber's father breaks a promise to take her to a movie, leaves her with a sitter, and goes out with a woman he met that day in the grocery store. Meanwhile, Amber's mother and her intended husband, Max, shop for a house, but not necessarily in the same town or near the same school that Amber has always known. Worse still, Amber's dad is furious with her mom and Max, and the feeling is mutual. The first-person narrative is fresh, articulate, and occasionally funny, though Danziger delivers more than light entertainment here. Readers will feel Amber's pain as she confronts each parent and her surprise when she finds comfort in the most unlikely place--the principal's office. Ross contributes lively, expressive ink drawings that help lighten this truthful but hopeful portrait of Amber's family in transition. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2004
Amber Brown tries to take control of her life when faced with changes, including a possible move to a new home, forced on her by divorced parents. Following some tantrums and discussions, Amber finds a way to tell both parents what she needs. The continuing tale of Amber reads a bit like a handbook for children of divorce, but it's improved by the strength of Amber's personality and by Danziger's sense of humor.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)