I Repeat, Don't Cheat.

Gr 1—3—In this production about cheating in school, author Margery Cuyler makes a special appearance to introduce her fifth book (S & S, 2010) starring Jessica the Worrywart. This time, Jessica is anxious about her best friend Lizzie's worrisome habit of copying her work, then lying about it. It all starts with Lizzie sneaking peeks at words during spelling tests and progresses to stealing Jessica's homework. The breaking point comes when Lizzie passes off Jessica's poem as her own, and Jessica must decide what to do. Should she tattle? Tell the truth and lose a friend? She is just sick about it, and not able to sleep or eat properly. Cuyler perfectly captures Jessica's physical symptoms of anxiety: "Her worries felt like ants crawling in her stomach." Should she say something to her teacher? To Lizzie? To her parents? Jessica finally blurts out her frustration to her teacher. Lizzie acknowledges her wrongdoing and apologizes. The child-friendly, bold pen, ink, and watercolor cartoon illustrations by Arthur Howard are simply animated. Randye Kaye's narration is spot-on. Students will identify with Jessica's dilemma, and the words "I repeat, don't cheat" can serve as a classroom catchphrase. Before viewing the ending, teachers can pause the DVD and ask: "What do YOU think Jessica should do?" to engender discussion. While useful as a preventive strategy, this DVD could be especially helpful when cheating problems arise in the classroom. With the emphasis on character education in schools, this is a timely tool.—Lonna Pierce, MacArthur Elementary School, Binghamton, NY