Responsibility Book

It's a Fair Day, Amber Brown is Paula Danziger's Puffin Easy-to-Read book for early readers ages 5-8. They are basically the prequel to the Amber Brown series appropriate for readers ages 8-10. Amber is an only child on vacation with her parents, her best friend Justin, and his family. They are staying together in the Poconos and getting ready for a day at the amusement park. Amber experiences typical disasters of a young child-Justin eats all of her cereal, Justin's brother Danny throws up on the airplane ride, etc. The real problem occurs when Amber walks away from her fighting parents and gets lost. Eventually a policeman brings Amber to a tent where her parents are called on the loudspeaker. The family reunites with joyful tears and the day continues with game playing and prize winning. Children who read this book could easily connect to Amber's daily experiences. They also could connect to the idea of getting lost as this is something that most children or their siblings have experienced on some level.

This would be an excellent book for children who see their older sibling reading the original Amber Brown or for younger readers interested in a likeable main character. Those who have read the original Amber Brown books will notice obvious similarities. In the regular Amber Brown books, Amber deals with the rough topic of her parent's divorce. In this story, Amber is years younger, yet she is still in-tune with her parents' relationship. She does not understand their fighting but is very aware of the tension between them. This is an accurate reaction/observation of a young child with parents headed for divorce. I think that young readers of this book can continue into the Amber Brown chapter books quite easily. They will connect with Amber as she deals with the different emotions that come with divorce in a family. Danziger addresses this important topic very realistically, with Amber's confusion (as in the early books) and anger/resentment as in the later books.