My Life in Pictures

“I feel rotten!” That’s a recurring refrain for Beatrice Garcia Holmes, especially now that her best friend Yvonne has left for Australia and a “monster” of a kid named Bert has moved in next door. Bea shares her travails in a journal-style narrative filled with b&w illustrations—Bea is a talented artist, though it can cause trouble, as when she draws on the family’s TV (“I think Wendy the Weather Woman looks good with a mustache”). Zemke resists solving Bea’s problems too neatly—at book’s end, Bert is still annoying, and Yvonne is still in Australia—yet she clearly shows how art, self-expression, and humor can be solid allies when life doesn’t go as planned. Ages 6–8. Agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, Herman Agency. (Mar.)