Call Me Oklahoma!

Paige Turner has the kind of name that encourages bad, punny jokes. She wants to start fourth grade as a new person, someone brash and brave, who would never be pushed around by the likes of snooty Viveca Frye. So Paige announces her new name, “Oklahoma” (“a name with guts”), and hopes the new person will follow. Paige’s older brother, Conrad, mocks her new name, as does Viveca, but Paige’s best friend Gavi has her back—until a book fair, a stuffed monkey, and Paige’s unexpected alliance with Viveca come between the two girls. Glassman (Box Top Dreams) has a solid handle on the desire for reinvention that drives Paige’s name change—she is hardly the first fourth-grader who has wished to be called by a different name. Although ever-annoying Conrad often comes across like a younger—not older—brother, the sparring between the siblings will be familiar to many a put-upon reader. Filled with humorous and believable details and dialogue, Paige’s journey of self-discovery should keep readers hooked. Ages 7–10. Agent: Ann Tobias, A Literary Agency for Children’s Books (Apr.)