Second-grade student Emily has a trying day in this beginning chapter-book, embarrassed by her new bus - it's a "little" bus, one that performs better in snow - and distraught at leaving her lunch bag behind. Her rambunctious fellow pupil, Vincetta Louise, frightens her with talk of a "ticket," but this turns out to be a slip that will allow her to charge her lunch as the school cafeteria. Fortunately for Emily, who dislikes what she is given to eat, Vincetta (Vinni) is there again, and this time her interference produces something worthwhile...

Published in 2006, The Secret Lunch Special is the first title in co-authors Peter Catalanotto and Pamela Schembri's three-volume 2nd Grade Friends series, followed by No More Pumpkins and The Veterans Day Visit. It was this last, which I discovered while looking for Veterans Day stories, that prompted me to pick it up in the first place, as I do not like reading series out of order. The story here is brief but engaging, and addresses a gamut of emotions that a fairly shy second-grader might experience, when confronted with a day where almost everything goes wrong. Recommended to young readers who are just getting going with chapter-books, and who enjoy school stories. ( )

Booklist
Already unhappy about her new, smaller school bus and dismayed that she has left her sparkly new lunch bag on the bus seat, quiet Emily becomes upset when loud-mouthed classmate Vincetta Louise informs her "You're going to get a ticket from Mr. Marvin." She thinks its some sort of punishment, when, in fact, it's a slip to charge her lunch. Worry, relief, disappointment, and gratitude are just a few of Emily's emotions as she copes with second grade, but an unexpected development makes it all seem worthwhile. The many black-and-white illustrations convey the characters' feelings clearly through facial expressions and body language, while the story reflects primary-grade concerns in a simple way. A good choice for readers new to chapter books . . and second grade. Carolyn Phelan
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I know kids who would like to read about a narrator like Emily, but I like my protagonists to have a little more spunk. ( )