TURKEY MONSTER THANKSGIVING

"Kids like you and me—without mothers at home... have to do things perfectly," says Claire, neighbor and classmate of Katie, the narrator of this rather slim novel. To prove it, Claire and her widower father are throwing a Thanksgiving dinner for 40. Katie, whose mother left three years ago to become a Country and Western star, in a fit of competition, claims that she, her father and her three-year-old brother, Tyler, are having holiday guests, too—even though her family tradition is pizza and pajamas for Thanksgiving. She "accidentally" invites her fourth-grade teacher, and spontaneously asks her dad's boss, too. The "turkey monster" (a giant lawn ornament Claire made as decoration, which scares Tyler) metaphor, Katie's mother's pursuit of stardom and Claire's haughtiness may be overblown, but this tale makes clear that every family has its own traditions, none more valid or "real" than the next. Ages 7-10. (Sept.)