Oh Susannah: It’s in the Bag: There’s a lot of stress at Susannah Logan’s house. Her parents have demanding jobs. It’s time to get up, but she doesn’t want to; She dilly-dally’s a bit, but not much. When she gets up, there’s the matter of her unfinished math homework. When Mom starts to yell, she stuffs it into her backpack. From there Susannah’s day gets worse: breakfast is a disaster, Dad and Mom are screaming at each other, her best friend, Lola, invites her to a sleepover and she doesn’t want to do, and she can’t decide what book to get out of the school library. Lola is feeling stressed and overwhelmed too. She stuffs it all inside her backpack, filling so full, the zipper rips. Trying to sleep, she has a dream---and the backpack explodes!

This is a great story to teach kids about dealing with stress and how to ask for help. ( )

The first in the OH SUSANNAH series introduces readers to Susannah, a third grader who needs some help dealing with things she has been putting off. This chapter book shares how Susannah becomes overwhelmed with math homework, an uneaten banana, a sleepover invitation, and a test. By shoving them all in her bag, she tries to ignore them until her bag gets too heavy and "bursts". She thinks her parents are too busy to talk to about her fears until they finally come out in a nightmare.

I think this story is realistic for elementary readers who can easily feel overwhelmed with homework and anxieties they may be having about friendships, homework, and things they are afraid of. Instead of talking to someone, these fears keep building up over time until they eventually explode. This story teaches a lesson on talking about your fears and making sure you handle things as they happen and not letting them build up over time.

This series by Roman includes short chapters that can be read by parents to young-elementary-aged children or alone by upper-elementary-aged children. I think the fears and anxieties that Susannah is feeling are realistic for children today. Parents and children often have extremely busy lives and once a couple assignments build up, kids can be afraid to let parents know they are feeling overwhelmed. Kids see how busy their parents are and don't want to bother them. Roman has created a series that is relatable to children with fun stories that offer lessons on how to handle concerns many kids face. ( )

I am sorry to say, but 'back in the day' there was Dr. Seuss for beginning readers and then, later, Nancy Drew. (for me it was the Trixie Belden series). But what about the gap in the middle years of young reading, books with chapters? Carole Roman has created a real life little girl that most of us young or olderish will relate to and appreciate. WITH a sense of humor that had my husband asking what the grin was for! ( )

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Susannah is having a terrible day. She didn't complete her homework because she didn't understand it. As her day goes on more things pile up. She handles things b cramming them into her backpack and ignoring them. susannah learns a valuable lesson. She learns you can't avoid unpleasant things . you must face them and if needed ask for help. Now if I could only get my middle school kids to understand this. ( )