Hello, Claudia!

In this prequel to Claudia, aged eleven and in the sixth grade, Barbara Brooks Wallace introduces us to a Claudia aged nine and in the fourth grade. She and her best friends are like twins, even to the same number of scabs on their knees! But her friend leaves, the letters between them fade, and Claudia desperately looks for a replacementin all the wrong places, it seems, until she realizes that the most unlikely person in the world might be what shes been looking for! Wallace has an easy way with dialogue and sure instinct for capturing kids personalities. School Library Journal