Perfectly Chelsea - Hardcover

Claudia Mills is the author of many children's books. Her last chapter book, 7 X 9 = Trouble!, was an ALA Notable Book. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Jacqueline Rogers is a veteran illustrator of children's books. She lives in Chatham, New York.

Gr. 3-5. Everything about her church seems quite perfect to Chelsea. Her ideal of perfection takes her only so far, however. Chelsea is mortified when the flame on her candlelighter goes out and when she rings the wrong bell in the hand-bell choir, but it takes an honest word from her best friend, Naomi, to make Chelsea realize that by tattling on her nemesis, she has made a more fundamental mistake. Unlike most fiction for children, this story clearly shows the importance and place of religion in everyday life. Though Christianity is featured, it is not held above other religions. One of the protagonists, Naomi, is a Jewish girl who snatches Chelsea back from the brink of prissiness by challenging her with a different perspective on her actions. Even this is handled realistically, for Chelsea resents the interference and initially rejects Naomi as well as her point of view. Illustrated with drawings (not seen in finished form), this has more depth than the usual chapter book and more references to church activities than most readers will come across in a month of Sundays. Carolyn Phelan
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