Maddie's Big Test

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Harvard,
Massachusetts.

Maddie wants to be a singing superstar like the winners of her favourite
television show Road to Stardom. Her dreams take her away from the sorry
truth that she hasn’t been doing her schoolwork and will have to
repeat her grade if she doesn’t improve. Rather than face all that
hard work, Maddie chooses instead to follow her friend Nicholas’s
advice to make promises, lie, and even cheat. Cheating on her big math
test makes Maddie feel sick. When her teacher phones home, Gran takes
the call and convinces Mrs. Spiegel to allow Maddie one more chance.
Maddie spends the weekend studying and this time when she takes the
test, she succeeds spectacularly.

This is another excellent title in the consistently popular Maddie
books of the First Novels series. The vocabulary is expressive and
energetic yet manageable for even the earliest chapter-book readers. The
sentences are easy to follow, and hold interesting visual imagery,
lively dialogue, or exciting plot developments. The illustrations are
expressive of Maddie’s intense emotion and are generously placed
throughout the book.

Maddie is an engaging character whose dramatic situations are always
opportunities for learning and growth. Highly recommended.