Light look at kids' concerns about advancing to the next grade. Bigger kids have told them scary and not entirely true accounts of how challenging second grade is. The usual Matthew Cordell art (plays better close up than at a distance). ( )

This book is fantastic for any grade level because the lesson that is taught can be applied to all students or people who are nervous about new things. ( )

Second Grade Holdout is a good book for anyone who has a fear of moving up to the next grade. It also helps you forget about some of your problems you may think you may face as you begin to start a new journey. ( )

Children will identify with the nervous character in this story. Our main character doesn’t want to move up to 2nd grade and has many reasons why he’d rather stay in 1st but in the end he realizes that with the right information 2nd grade will be great! Reminds me of the Black Lagoon series just more realistic. Illustrations are fun and add an extra dimension to the book. ( )

The young narrator from author Audrey Vernick and illustrator Matthew Cordell's First Grade Dropout returns in this follow-up adventure, this time confronting the somewhat intimidating experience of entering the second grade. Convinced by his best friend Tyler's older sisters that his new teacher is strict and demanding, he tries to think of ways to remain in the first grade for another year. It is only when the older girls begin trying to scare Tyler, that the narrator realizes what is going on...

Like its predecessor, which explored the sometimes outsized embarrassment that young children can feel when they make a social faux pas, Second Grade Holdout highlights another emotional hurdle that schoolchildren can face. Namely, feeling intimidated by change, and wishing for things to stay the same. Vernick handles her story well, presenting a believable and endearing young protagonist, while Cordell's artwork, done in pen and ink with watercolor, is every bit as humorous and entertaining as in the previous title. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed First Grade Dropout, as well as to anyone looking for children's stories that address fears about changing grades and growing up. ( )