"According to my waterproof watch with the Velcro band and digital read-out," says Jeffrey McMillan, "I had been in the shower exactly 38 minutes, 42 seconds. See, I planned to stay in the shower the rest of my life. That way, I wouldn't have to go back to my 5th grade classroom and face ... The Eye."

What is The Eye? Why is Jeffrey so frightened of it? And will he ever get out of the shower? In this sequel to Me + Math = Headache, join Jeffrey and his friends in their latest, humorous adventure.

"It is not so difficult to recall, with painful accuracy, what it felt like to step up to the front of a roomful of human eyes for the first time. But Jeffrey McMillan is a product of modern times. His first experience with public speaking features a most formidable member of the audience: a video camera.

"In this sequel to Me + Math = Headache, Lee Wardlaw's endearing central character has personified his electronic adversary. It is The EYE! When Jeffrey's fifth grade teacher informs the class that their new project involves a videotaped classroom speech, Jeffrey is understandably distressed. His panicked flights of fance and spur-of-the-moment daydreams are humorous, yet believable enough for any reader to relate to.

"Ms. Wardlaw, thankfully, does not condescend to the prospective audience. She employs lively dialogue with realistic wording and paces the narrator's stream of consciousness in a way reminiscent of my own ten-year-old diary ramblings. Character development is thorough, yet references to occurrences in the previous book may necessitate the additional read in order to complete the picture. (I acquired a copy of Me + Math = Headache and found it delightful.)

"As is the case with the majority of light-hearted books for this age group, there is a moral, a lesson to be learned from reading The Eye and I. Admirably, the author has accomplished the delicate task of teaching without preaching.

"Authentic characters such as Jeffrey's antagonistic sister and wacky surfer friend are the elements that had me envisioning the story as an after-school special for television. Hmmmm. I will add this book to my collection of works for children, right alongside such favorites as Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Deborah Stouffer's whimsical illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the text." (The Small Press Book Review)

"Wardlaw has filled her newest novel with the same wonderful humor and the characters that readers loved in her first book." (Santa Barbara News-Press)

The Author: Lee Wardlaw is a former teacher who loves cats, crunchy French fries, coconut-scented shampoo and long, hot showers. The author of several books for children and young adults (including Me + Math = Headache and Operation Rhinoceros for Red Hen Press), Lee lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband and two cats. Her interests include reading, swimming, philosophy, and visiting schools, talking to kids about writing.

The Illustrator: The cover painting and interior black-and-white illustrations are by Deborah Stouffer, who lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband and three small children. Formerly she worked for eight years as a Set Director and Art Director at Universal Studios. She enjoys growing her own vegetables, gourmet cooking, skiing, and other outdoor activities. To add realism to her art, she often uses her children and their neighborhood friends as models for her illustrations.

The Eye and I is available direct from us (send us an e-mail for info) and from Amazon.com.

Recommended ages: 6-9

Dimensions: 5.5" wide x 7.5" tall, 67 pages, softcover

Price: $3.50

First published: 1988

Second printing: 1991

Weekly Reader Book Club selection, 1989

ISBN: 0931093130

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