OUR SIXTH-GRADE SUGAR BABIES

What better practice for parenthood than a full week of caring for a baby--a five-pound bag-of-sugar baby, that is. Eleven-year-old Vicki and her best friend, Ellie, have new babies and a new crush (whom they nickname "Thunk"--Terrific Hunk) at the same time. As they struggle with self-image, social graces, friendship, and young love, Christina Moore interprets their emotions with roller-coaster accuracy, from squeals to tears, frenzy to funk. Mr. Ambrose, Vicki's aging neighbor, repeats his daily weather report in dull-voiced monotony while her mother's crooning voice soothes her preadolescent anxieties. Middle-grade students will identify with Vicki's frequent dilemmas, told with first-person candor. T.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]