Gr. 2-4. Nose picking does not necessarily come to mind as a topic for a beginning chapter book, but it seems Sacher has, er, picked a winner. Unjustly accused of picking his nose, Marvin tries to fight the rumors, adjust to his outcast status, and deal with the loss of his best friends, who are afraid of being labeled nose pickers as well. Sacher really understands how kids can get skewered for differences (real or otherwise), and readers will certainly see themselves here. Happily for Marvin, he finds a way out of his dilemma when he conducts a survey and learns that everyone but his original accuser, even his teacher and the principal, fesses up to picking his or her nose. Illustrated with energetic pencil drawings, this is brisk, funny, and very revealing. No doubt we'll be seeing more of Marvin, who was introduced in Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? [BKL D 1 92]. --Ilene Cooper

When third-grader Marvin is unfairly labeled a nose-picker, his classmates and best friends stop hanging around with him until he uses his class survey to ask them if they've ever picked their nose. All, including the school principal and except the class bully, admit they have. This could easily be an unappealing subject, but Sachar treats the situation with unflinching honesty and straightforwardness. The hilarious portrayal of grade-school relationships has tremendous child appeal. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.