Seeing Sugar

Seeing Sugar by Cynthia L. Brinson was a sweet  (pardon the pun-- wait, is that a pun?) grade 2-4 book. I think the book would've been better if the plot had been expanded and details added to form an older-grade novel, but it was good as is, although, I must say, not as good as I expected.

The book is about a fourth grader named Kate whose whole perspective on school changes when a new girl, Sugar Rose from Georgia, joins Miss Burke's class and Miss Burke decides to let Sugar Rose take Kate's seat, which she says is "up front and center". Since she moved to a seat further away from the teacher, Kate realizes that she needs glasses, and when she leaves for a trip to the eye doctor's, scares Sugar Rose with a mean outburst. Through her new lavender-colored glasses, Kate sees the world with a photographer's eye-- the leaves on the maple trees aren't fuzzy green blurs, but individual shapes with veins and markings, making each one different; even the people are different: her brother Andy is a boy with a deep passion for baseball, and the much-hated Sugar Rose is actually just a scared new girl, not the popular show-off in Kate's imagination.

This is highly recommended, and makes for a good read-aloud or bedtime story (maybe?). If you've read it, or are interested, post a comment-- I'd love to hear what you think!

--Dana