Sunday Chutney

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 31 AUG 2009

Sunday Chutney has thick glasses, a huge smile, a plaid dress and a mane of dark, curly hair. She's lived all over the world, "which is great," though it leaves her "always the new kid." Her story is full of sparkle ("I enjoy my own company... and I have an excellent imagination"), yet she doesn't sidestep personal doubts and dislikes ("I really, really don't like my lazy eye"). Blabey (Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley) lays the pages out scrapbook style, with "photographs" and panels to break up the spreads. A drab palette of gray and brown and olive, while an odd choice for an essentially cheerful book, serves to carry through Sunday's ability to see the good and the bad together. "Sometimes I feel a bit lonely," Sunday says, watching a group of girls in the distance. "But only sometimes," she adds, as her excellent imagination provides her an elephant and a bear to play with. A fine character study of an effervescent girl who isn't struggling, exactly, but who still has a lot on her plate. Ages 3 up.