Quinny & Hopper

Quinny, who rivals Junie B. Jones in both volume and breeziness, moves next door to quiet, analytical Hopper the summer before third grade. He's initially baffled (and a little appalled) by Quinny's loudness, but she eventually wins him over--until snooty Victoria barges her way between them. Schanen nicely balances the protagonists' alternating perspectives; Swearingen does a great job of depicting their emotions.

Quinny moves next door to Hopper in the summer before third grade, and the two couldn't be more different. Quinny rivals Junie B. Jones in both volume and breeziness, and initially she is almost unbearable with her "smirky-smiling" and her "very, very, extra-very" cutesiness. However, the book works because Hopper, who alternates chapters with Quinny, feels the same way readers do. A quiet, analytical boy with bullying older brothers and no friends, he is initially baffled and a little appalled by Quinny's loudness. But in battling the brothers on his behalf, she wins him over, and the two of them spend the summer trying to catch a needy chicken, until snooty new-girl Victoria barges her way between them. In this first novel, Schanen nicely balances the perspectives of Quinny and Hopper, so readers eventually begin to anticipate how each will respond and understand that both are working on the basis of the limited information they have. She also paints a comically exaggerated but essentially truthful picture of life with siblings, either on the bullied end or, as in Quinny's case, being the one who's sometimes mean to younger kids. Illustrator Swearingen does a great job depicting the emotions each child goes through, and the book's ending is satisfying in itself while leaving room for sequels. susan dove lempke