Cody Carson has moved to a new town, and he is looking forward to a new start. No more embarrassing behavior, just triumphs. Written in diary form, this chronicles how Cody does. Pretty well as it turns out, rescuing a hamster, improving his grades, even running for class president. Of course, there are some down moments, including his effort to toilet train his cat (using the real toilet) and a misguided valentine for the first girl he likes. Birdseye uses the diary format to good advantage, showing in funny, first-person observations that boys have the same emotional ups and downs that girls do. And yes, there is much talk of stinking feet and passing gas. The attention-attracting title and the great cover (a crowd of children rushing away from hovering underwear), add to the sense of silly, middle-grade fun.

After moving to a different town, fifth-grader Cody Carson vows to cultivate a new persona. In his "New Me Journal," he records the ups and downs of fifth grade, which include falling for a girl in his class, blundering through the school talent show, and becoming a hero during a camping trip. Kids will relate to Cody's humorous attempts at self-improvement, though the narrative is generally prosaic.

Gr 4-6-Cody Lee Carson is resolved to become a "changed man." Starting fifth grade at a new school in a new town means that nobody knows about his Old Cody "doofus, bozo-brained" mess-up tendencies, including the infamous Tweety Bird-underwear-in-the-spotlight episode. The New Me Journal of the boy's bumpy transformation from hapless fourth grader to confident fifth-grade graduate comes complete with stories of sibling strife, classmate clashes, student council elections, and his first big crush. This lively and believable record of Cody's attempt to put his best foot forward and figure out where he fits in has great appeal for middle graders who are themselves experiencing the awful awkwardnesses of preadolescence, reinventions of self, science fairs, and fallings-out with friends. With its ever-so-catchy title and its many practical jokes (appropriate for a protagonist with an April 1st birthday), it's a sort of male companion for Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's early "Alice" (Atheneum) and "Boys"/"Girls" battle books (Delacorte). A well-paced, positive, and pleasant read.-Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.