Jumping Into Nothing

Willner-Pardo puts the theme explored in Rosemary Wells's Edward The Unready series into an easy chapter book with this accessible tale of a child working her way up to jumping from the local pool's high board. When neither peer pressure nor her best friend Annalise's example can get Sophie all the way up the ladder, she decides to try conquering her fear by doing other scary things, such as sleeping without a nightlight, eating a bug, and volunteering to do a math problem at the board in summer school. Finally, with her father's gentle encouragement, she does the deed, explaining later to Annalise that she wasn't any less frightened than before--she was just ready. The author can't resist spelling out the lessons, but her lively sense of humor and intelligent, considerate cast keep this from being weighted down by its agenda. Chang's occasional black-and-white illustrations place sweet-faced young characters into tidy suburban settings.