Roosevelt Banks and the Attic of Doom

Gr 3-6--Roosevelt Banks is looking forward to a summer of fun with his dad after a long year in fourth grade, but it turns out he is in for a rather scary surprise. He's being consigned to the spooky, gross attic to make room for a new baby, and his parents expect him to help make it habitable. He's scared of the ghosts up there and doesn't want to spend the summer working alongside them--and of course, is also loath to welcome a stinky, loud, life-changing sibling into his family. Nonetheless, Roosevelt manages to get into plenty of messes with his group of neighborhood kids and spend time with his little sister, who's happily spending the summer nurturing baby bunnies. The crux of the book is a kid-orchestrated ghost exorcism that involves loud noises, bad smells, and slime. What could possibly go wrong? This book has a lot going for it--a serious life change, a kooky childhood challenge, an affable cast of pals, and caring, serious parents to gently guide their children's emotional development. As depicted by Palen's bubbly intermittent illustrations, Banks is white, and his friends are white, Black, and Asian American. VERDICT An often silly, sometimes sweet read; many kids will recognize themselves in Roosevelt's big imagination and will enjoy spending the summer in his insular, intimate neighborhood universe.--Emilia Packard