Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

With spunky Amber Brown, Danziger ( The Cat Ate My Gymsuit ; Everyone Else's Parents Said Yes ) adds to her oeuvre's sizable brood of magnetic young characters. This heroine's perky, first-person narrative (I, Amber Brown, am one very excited third grader'') allows readers to make her acquaintance immediately--and effortlessly. They'll learn straight away that Amber's life is about to change, and she is not at all happy about it. Her best friend, Justin, is moving away. Since preschool, they have beena great team'': he helps her with fractions (which I only half understand''); she eats the cream center out of Oreos and passes the cookie part to him (We call it teamwork. Hannah Burton calls it `gross.' '') Though she tries to keep a stiff upper lip, Amber's emotions get the best of her when Justin, while packing, decides to throw out the chewing-gum ball they have accumulated. She resolves never to speak to him again, but the two make peace in an affecting scene that brings this brief but memorable novel to a close. Once again, Danziger demonstrates her ability to connect with her audience. One hopes she has more escapades planned for Amber. Ages 7-9. (Apr.)

School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 2-4-She may not be a crayon, but Amber Brown is certainly blue over the fact that her best friend, Justin Daniels, is moving away. What's making it even harder is that he won't talk to her about how he feels and she can only assume he's not as broken up about it as she is. Then, while cleaning his room for the move, Justin throws away the chewing-gum ball they've been building for a year and a half. It's the last straw and the pair are no longer speaking at all. Finally, Amber's mother helps her understand that Justin's reticence is his way of protecting himself against his sadness and anxiety over leaving, and Amber makes the move that reconciles the two pals. There's lots of fun along with the pathos here; third graders, true to form, call each other outrageous names and gross each other out good-naturedly, and their teacher, Mr. Cohen, is a paragon of creativity and understanding. Ross's black-and-white sketches throughout add humor and keep the pages turning swiftly. Danzinger reaches out to a younger audience in this funny, touching slice of third-grade life, told in the voice of a feisty, lovable heroine.-Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

ALA Booklist

Amber Brown has been best friends with Justin Daniels since preschool. They have private games and jokes; they look out for each other. Then Justin's dad gets a job in Alabama, and the family has to move away. As the house is sold and things are packed up, Justin tries to act as if nothing is happening; Amber picks a fight; the friends aren't speaking. Without a trace of condescension, Danziger gets the child's funny and vulnerable voice. The third-graders' friendship is beautifully drawn, especially the rituals about food (Amber always eats the cream filling of the Oreos and hands Justin the cookies), their shared enjoyment of the messy and the gross. Ross' cartoon-style illustrations capture Amber's vital classroom--the fun and the fights, as well as the empty place when a friend moves away. (Reviewed Apr. 15, 1994)

Horn Book

Amber Brown is not a crayon color; she is a spunky, opinionated third grader devastated by the impending move of her best friend, Justin. The format of the short novel, alternately funny and poignant, is particularly well suited to the audience, with wide margins, large type, and plenty of Ross's line drawings.

Kirkus Reviews

As Amber tells her teasing third-grade classmates, she's not a crayon color but a girl—messy but well adjusted, lucky in a teacher who makes a game of studying other countries, trying to forget that best-friend Justin is moving to Alabama as soon as his parents can sell their house. When they do, Justin and Amber- -whose own parents' divorce makes this new separation even more painful—fall into a silly quarrel; still, with a little sympathetic encouragement from the adults, they realize that its true cause is their dejection about the move and make up just before Justin leaves. The familiar story is nicely individualized in Amber's buoyant, authentically childlike narration; it's grand to have Danziger add books for younger readers to her many popular titles for the older crowd. (Fiction. 6-9)"