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Summary
Summary
Amber Brown is excited about starting second grade, but she is also a little nervous. There is a new second grade teacher this year. The old second grade teacher was really nice and used to smile at Amber in the hall. What if the new one isn't as nice? What if she doesn't like Amber?
As she sets off with her new bear backpack (named Bear Lee Brown), the flapping scab on her knee (named Scabulous), and her best friend, Justin, Amber decides she's ready for whatever happens. And second grade better be ready for Amber Brown!
Author Notes
Paula Danziger was born in Washington, D.C., on August 18, 1944.
She received her Master's Degree in reading and began her career as a teacher. She has taught at the junior high, high school, and college levels.
Danziger is best known for a series of children's books about Amber Brown, including Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon, You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown, and Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit. Each of these books deals with a "crisis" in the life of young Amber Brown, such as her progressing to fourth grade. Danziger's writing is often inspired by conversations with her niece, Carrie, who is the model for Amber Brown. Other books by Danziger include The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, Remember Me to Harold Square, and Thames Doesn't Rhyme with James.
Danziger has become popular in Britain where she was nominated for the British Book Award for Children. She has also received several awards in America: the Parent's Choice Award, an International Reading Association-Children's Book Council Award, and an IRA-CBC Children's Choice Award. Danziger takes time out from writing to host a literary segment on a BBC children's show, called Live and Kicking.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-The characters in these prequels for beginning readers lose nothing from their original portrayals in the longer books for older children. In Get Ready, Danziger effortlessly guides young Amber through an encounter with the unknown as a second grader. The child confesses her fears-will her new teacher give "seven hours of homework?-What if she's an alien from some foreign planet?" A ray of light shines on her as she begins class-Ms. Light. The woman calms worries with ease, and the "Bright Lights" include all of her students, in particular a newly confident Amber. Childlike conversations and humor capture the highlights of the school day. In the second title, a trip to a county fair includes the Browns and the family of Amber's friend Justin Daniels, but all is not well between her mother and father. The author's gift for characterization places Amber's emotions before readers; an escape from the tensions between her parents creates a potentially dangerous moment when she loses her way at the fair. The book's puns and kid-oriented humor target a serious topic with childlike truthfulness and simplified text. In both books, Ross's watercolor-and-pen illustrations emphasize the action and emotions.-Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Together Again Beginning readers will welcome the return of several favorite characters. Amber Brown stars in two titles by Paula Danziger, illus. by Tony Ross. In It's a Fair Day, Amber Brown, the heroine and her best friend, Justin, enjoy a vacation with their families. Unfortunately, things turn sour when Amber's parents start arguing and she gets lost at the county fair. Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown focuses on first-day jitters that are quickly quelled. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
These two books feature a younger Amber Brown and take place before her parents' divorce and her best friend Justin's departure. The new format--large print, shorter stories, and sketchy cartoon-style illustrations on each page--and the focus on younger concerns will make these cheerful, humorous books appealing to newly independent readers. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
First- and second-grade teachers (and their students) will be especially interested in this laugh-out-loud, first-person story of Amber's first days in second grade. Ross continues his significant contribution to the A Is for Amber easy reader series with his expressive watercolor-and-ink illustrations that always set a cheerful, humorous tone. Danziger (It's a Fair Day, Amber Brown, below, etc.), with her pitch-perfect view of a child's emotions, zeroes in on all the anxieties of a new school year: an unknown new teacher, uncertainty about friends, a snotty queen bee, and a teddy bear backpack that invites teasing comments. Amber's new teacher is a delight: Ms. Light, a denim-clad, hip lady with light-up lightbulb earrings and lots of information about light and electricity. (Move over, Ms. Frizzle!) The members of the second-grade class are introduced with Danziger's deadpan, punny humor: Freddie, who can do armpit music; Fredrich, who picks his nose; and Hannah, who clearly has her claws out for Amber. Before long, Amber stands up to Hannah Burton ("Look, Hannah BURPton. Stop it") and, in a satisfying conclusion, vows with confidence that she'll be reading chapter books before long because she is indeed ready for second grade. The stage is set for more tales about Ms. Light's Bright Lights, and Amber's adoring fans will be ready for more second-grade fun. (Easy reader. 5-9)
Booklist Review
Gr. 1^-3. Worried because the new second-grade teacher really wants to teach in high school and calls elementary school kids "knee biters," Amber and her friends anticipate the worst in Get Ready. Ms. Light, however, turns out to be as bright as her name and as wonderful as Ms. Frizzle and Lilly's Mr. Slinger. In Fair Day Amber plans to have a perfect day as she and her parents go to a county fair along with her friend Justin and his family. Upset by her parents' constant arguing, Amber wanders off, becomes lost, and is soon found. Cotton candy, riding the merry-go-round, and winning prizes turn Amber's "Fair Day" into an "almost-perfect day." Although told with Danziger's characteristic humor, both books portray very real situations, fears, and apprehensions that new readers will readily recognize. They will admire Amber's spirit and spunk, laugh at the wordplay and, like second-grade Amber, soon be ready for chapter books. Linda Perkins
