May is a successful businesswoman who does not need a sidekick…until she does.May, a brown-skinned girl with puffy hair, has a booming business called Word Saver, Inc. She fields calls to "save [the] day" in emergency situations, when she uses her letters to change words and neutralize threats. Angry bees heading for the playground? May dashes over with her "T" to turn them into beets. A snake in a classroom? May throws in a few letters to turn the snake into a sneaker. Her adoring fans love her, but Stu, a blond, white boy in a wheelchair, wants to be her sidekick. His skill is with a lasso, which May sees no use for, and besides, she is a small business owner, not a superhero in need of a sidekick. But one day, as a runaway train hurtles toward town, May has an accident, and Stu arrives just in time to lasso the T, turning the TRAIN into RAIN. May is impressed. On the next emergency, they work together with great success, and May decides she could use his help after all. The cartoony pictures capture the excitement and urgency of the word emergencies, and the white lettering of the magic words is large enough for early readers to follow how the words change.A clever presentation of literacy in action. (Picture book. 3-8)

PreS-Gr 2 In this clever and upbeat story, a resourceful young girl named May rescues her community from a variety of predicaments through the power of spelling. She changes a swarm of bees to beets by adding a "t", for example, and averts a runaway train by removing a "t" and making it rain. A lasso-wielding boy named Stu admires her skills and wishes to be her sidekick, although the independent May initially rebuffs his attempts. Ultimately, Stu proves himself to be a valuable partnernot just a sidekickwhen the two of them change a threatening tornado into a harmless mess of tomatoes. This book is a terrific way to engage early readers in exploring letter knowledge and phonics. In addition to its lighthearted and humorous wordplay, this empowering tale deftly conveys the message that there is value in teamwork, and emphasizes themes of problem-solving and friendship. Lively, expressive illustrations complement the story's energetic text. VERDICT A great choice for an early elementary school read-aloud. Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Lib., CA