DON'T WEAR POLKA DOT UNDERWEAR WITH WHITE PANTS

Mandy Berr isn't happy.

Mrs. Spangle just announced all the parts for the Presidential Pageant and she didn't get the one she wanted. Instead, Mandy has been named the narrator, which is just about the dullest Pageant part ever, and worse, her nemesis, Natalie (who doesn't even read out loud with any expression) got the best role of all: George Washington. The first in an illustrated chapter book series about the rambunctious Mandy Berr. Her voice is charming and honest, whether she's describing infants ("moist"), talking about rolling a cater- pillar between her fingers like a gummy bear, or explaining the game of "Squash the Lemon" she plays with her girlfriends. And she often gets into trouble, such as when she's trying to find a quiet place to practice her narration and is caught in the act of breaking into her neighbors' house. As Mandy prepares for the Pageant with her best friend, Anya, and learns to live with her new twin siblings, Samantha and Cody, she discovers that being out of the spot- light is just fine. Allison Gutknecht lives in Manhattan. She graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Creative Writing and Elementary Education and has been working for Sesame Workshop ever since. She recently adopted a cat from her childhood idol, Ann M. Martin.