  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 02/01/2015 Gr 2–4—This series opener introduces eight-year-old Emma, resident of Washington Heights, NY. Her most memorable trait, besides her Hispanic heritage, which comes up often in the book—especially when she speaks in short Spanish phrases—is her great desire to be famous. She mentions it often, sings it, and chants it. It is the driving force behind the plot of the book, in which Emma learns how to be a TV reporter and starts an investigation of how a worm gets into a burger in the school cafeteria. The adults, including her father and her teachers, seem irritated by her need to be famous, and it has a similar effect on readers. Emma is an intelligent girl who learns real skills and takes initiative toward a goal, but it is all overshadowed by her annoying personality and relentless quest for fame. The writing, also, contains too much exposition and not enough description. There are too many exclamations, too many explanations, and not nearly enough character development. The design and illustrations will appeal to children, especially the large eyes and the bright cover, and the book is formatted and designed well. VERDICT Despite a good subject and plotline, the character of Emma is just too cloying to embrace.—Shalini Miskelly, St. Benedict Catholic School, Seattle, WA - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2015 Eight-year-old Emma wants to be famous, like the glamorous reporter on the evening news. When classmate Javier finds a worm on his hamburger at lunch, Emma knows she has her big story, and with the help of Papi (her Dominican father, a newspaper reporter), she records a newscast, which she uploads to her school’s online bulletin board. From there, Emma conducts interviews with classmates and school staff to get to the bottom of the “worm-burger” mystery. Eventually, Emma digs up the truth when she learns that Javier had a cardboard carton of dirt from the school garden next to the cardboard carton with his hamburger in it, and inadvertently set his hamburger down in the wrong carton. Emma’s final newscast saves the school’s lunchroom staff from the health inspector’s wrath and Emma is overjoyed that her reports not only made her “famous” at school but also helped people. Emma’s repeated clamoring for fame can get a bit tedious, she and her classmates are fairly one-note characterizations, and the monochromatic digital illustrations are generically cartoonish. Also, the mystery’s solution is overly convenient and unbelievable (wouldn’t a kid notice if he had set his burger in a box of dirt, or at least realize it after he’d found a worm on his burger?). Still, Emma’s spunk and persistence are appealing, and the book is instructive about news reporting. Budding newscasters and detectives will enjoy this the most, and they may want to follow this new series. JH - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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