Lulu is the type of heroine who is the exact opposite of charming. She is exasperating, tiring, and thinks she is oh-so-clever. This third Lulu book has the heroine meeting her match in a babysitter who is anything but ordinary. In fact, Ms. Solinsky (called in so Lulu's parents can take a well-deserved vacation from Lulu) is a spy in disguise. She agrees to teach her charge the secrets of sleuthing, if d that's a big if e behaves. Readers will hang in there to see if Lulu can rise to the various challenges set, including the titular mission, which involves following the clues through a clever scavenger hunt. Viorst has always exercised a light, droll touch, and this latest will suit fans of her other humorous early chapter books. Cornell's illustrations stretch and squish the characters to suit their high-strung antics, while also emphasizing the tall-tale flavor of the adventure rely Lulu is a match for those legendary heroes if she can successfully transform into a cow (which she can!).

When her parents go on vacation without her, Lulu's efforts to oust her babysitter are vigorous. But she meets her match in Sonia Sofia Solinsky, who reveals she's a spy and spy trainer. Farce, slapstick, tall tale; punctuated with authorial asides and leavened with scads of white space and the many energetic sweeps of Cornell's comic illustrations--this is a book to tickle emerging readers.

Another wild adventure featuring the exasperating and inexplicably lovable Lulu (Lulu and the Brontosaurus, 2010; Lulu Walks the Dogs, 2012). As hard as it may be to believe, Lulu's doting parents have decided to take a vacation without their precious darling. What's worse, they have hired a professional babysitter to care for her while they are gone. It doesn't take long for Lulu to decide that Ms. Sonia Sofia Solinsky must go. Nothing if not determined, Lulu tries faking illness, running away, destroying her room and smuggling cats in to trigger the sitter's severe allergies. Nothing works, perhaps because Triple S is a former spy. Wait. A spy?? Maybe she can stay after all, though not to do something as dumb as babysit, but to train Lulu in the fine art of spycraft. Throughout the text, Viorst weaves in an authorial voice that speaks directly to readers, offering witty metafictional commentary sure to induce giggles. Black-and-white drawings depicting a spirited Lula in action and a good deal of white space keep the text from becoming overwhelming to readers new to chapter books. Great fun for Lulu fans old and new. (Fiction. 6-10)

Gr 2-4 Spoiled little Lulu is back in a third book to tackle a new challenge: a babysitter. Despite Lulu's objection that "babysitters sit babies, and I'm no baby," her parents head off on vacation, leaving her in the care of the intimidating Ms. Solinsky. The little girl does her devious best to get rid of Ms. Solinsky, even preying on her one weakness, a cat allergy, but the babysitter always seems to be one step ahead of Lulu. When she discovers her babysitter's spy training, an intrigued Lulu offers her best behavior in exchange for a little covert training of her own, culminating in an "MM" or "Mysterious Mission." Over-the-top action and the narrator's dry voice balance out a slightly strained plot. Kevin Cornell steps in as illustrator, replacing Lane Smith, who only did this book's cover. Lulu now looks a little more like a regular girl, with a rounder nose and sneakers, but in the wide variety of diabolical facial expressions she wears, readers will recognize the same troublemaker they have come to know and love. Lulu's fans will be happy to read her next (mis)adventure. Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT