The World According to Kaley

Gr. 3-5. Fourth-grader Kaley's world unfolds in a series of lengthy, heavily embroidered essays written for her World History class and the brief notes from her teacher, Mr. Serrano, that accompany the graded papers. Kaley's approach to her work is imaginative rather than informative, often fictional rather than factual, and frequently funny. Between the lines of "history," readers learn of Kaley's mother's pregnancy, of Kaley's disappointment when she learns that the baby is a boy, and of her concern when the baby is hospitalized with an infection. The light, breezy writing style will suit kids who love the first-person voice of the Marissa Moss' Amelia's Notebook series but want something that looks more like a chapter book. Kaley's line drawings appear on some of the pages, but these small, black-and-white illustrations are not distracting.