Lunchroom Lizard
Kindergarten-Grade 2–While pursuing a big, tasty fly, Gil the gecko finds himself on the lam from his classroom aquarium and in the cafeteria. Enter the students. The importance of who sits next to whom is the dominant issue for one set of characters while a mistakenly swapped lunchbox is a big problem for another, and a typically boring lunch is a drag for yet another. Meanwhile, Gil remains so focused on finding his lunch that the noise and chatter don't appear to bother him in the least. He meanders between tables, up and down chairs, and finally winds up in safe hands. Part of the book's fun is finding Gil on each page. A clock appears in the margin every now and then, reminding readers that lunchtime is zooming by. The simple, rhyming verse is generally fine although it occasionally seems forced and clunky because of all the different voices. The illustrations, however, are done in a charmingly cheery palette. As a school story, and for children with an interest in geckos (perhaps future Chet Gecko fans), this title makes a nice addition.–Jennifer England, The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.