Gr 2-4--In this sequel to Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon (Putnam, 1994), Amber has completed the third grade and is looking ahead to an exciting summer. She is going to London with her Aunt Pam, and then on to Paris to see her father. Her parents are getting a divorce, yet she hopes that somehow she can bring them back together. Once in London, though, she comes down with the chicken pox, and her father comes to visit her. She then realizes that her parents won't get back together, but her dad does promise that he will return to the U.S. soon, and it looks like he and Amber's mother will communicate more openly in the future. Amber is bright, perky, and thoroughly likable, and the story is upbeat, authentic, and humorous. While recuperating, Amber writes funny letters to her friend Justin, plays board games with her aunt, and gets trapped in an elevator. She is a convincing eight-year-old in her behavior, interests, perceptions, and penchant for gross humor. Appealing black-ink cartoons appear throughout. This is a delightful selection, sure to please fans of the first book and win some new ones.--Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA

Less entertaining than Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon (1994), this sequel is too purposeful. At the end of third grade, Amber Brown takes a trip to London with her aunt while her parents try to work out their divorce. The story is part tourist guide (what's fun to see and do in London) and part bibliotherapy (what it's like when your parents are separating). The two parts don't really go together that well. Danziger writes funny dialogue, but there's a limit to the jokes you can make about the Briticisms for American words. Still, Amber Brown is a smart, vulnerable character, and her first-person narrative is wonderfully candid. Many kids will appreciate her longing for innocence: I miss just being a kid who doesn't have to think about all this stuff. (Reviewed Mar. 15, 1995)

Amber ends the school year looking forward to a trip to London and Paris, where she will visit first her aunt and then her father. Upon arriving in London, she comes down with chicken pox, and her plans to see her father in Paris and convince him that he should return home are replaced by days of scratching and fever. Liberally illustrated, the humorous, realistic story is presented in short chapters.