Kid Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Grown-Ups

Writing in a tongue-in-cheek tone, Montgomery tries to help readers understand their adult counterparts. Topics include adults’ bodily insecurities, dietary habits, and love lives, while “Trickery Tactics,” designed to “help level the playing field in the time-honored/age-old struggle” between children and “Mature Adults” appear in sidebars. FAQs tackle such questions as “Why is my mom’s purse so heavy?” and “Why do they lick their fingers before turning a page?”, and an appendix identifies nine major types of adults (including Police Officer, Dentist, and Musician). Storm’s b&w spot art plays up the theme of intergenerational conflict with cartoons featuring sly kids and bungling adults. Montgomery is sympathetic to readers who view adults as an alien subspecies while gently breaking the news that they will one day join their ranks. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)