09/16/2024
Though vivacious third grader Millie likes to think she’s the boss, she knows that the real person in charge is her mother, the mayor of Washington, D.C.—and her mother’s assistant Josephine, who stepped in to help following Millie’s father’s death years ago, much to Millie’s dismay. Josephine has too many rules, such as exiling Millie’s chicken, Extra Crispy, to sleep in a coop instead of Millie’s room. But Millie has bigger problems than Josephine’s regulations. At school, bully Buckley taunts Millie and her friends relentlessly. So when Millie learns that she and her mother will compete against Buckley and his father on Field Day, Millie’s favorite day, she’s devastated. Mom encourages her to stand up to Buckley, but when Millie takes this advice too far, she ends up in hot water with the principal. Worse, Josephine must act as her partner when Mom is too busy to participate. But both Josephine and Buckley have a few surprises in store in this charming series kickoff by Mazique (Delphine Denise and the Mardi Gras Prize), confidently narrated by Millie and complemented by energetic b&w illustrations from Glenn (Bella Ballerina). Millie is Black; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 5–8. (Dec.)