The Trouble With Babies

Reviewed by: Paula Johnson - Long Island Community Library, Long Island, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2016

Review

Ten year old Nora Alpers is a budding scientist who is feeling overwhelmed by lots of non scientific problems. She is becoming an aunt for the first time, is paired with a science hating partner for the science fair, needs to imagine herself on the Oregon Trail for a social studies project, and figure out how to deal with friends who think that babies are the most awesome thing in the world. The book is filled with lots of fourth grade humor and all the ups and downs of that particular age. This is the second book written about Nora, the first one being the Trouble With Ants. An interesting feature of the book are the facts about babies that Nora writes in her journals and the questions she generates from those facts. They give an added depth to the fun filled "troubles" of a fourth grade girl. This book would be great for independent reading as well as a classroom read aloud. The black and white illustrations add to the humor of the story.

Overall Book Score: very good