Review Detail

Tony, Mia, and River are all in Mr. Ortega's fourth grade class at Sycamore Elementary School in Los Angeles. When he has a "surprise us" day, River (whose real name is Walter, but who wants to be a star worthy of his new name) brings in sparkly shoes from his mother's clothing resale shop, Tony tries to bring in one of his drawings, which his younger brother ZoZo has covered in strawberry jam, and Mia brings in her snake. Things go badly wrong, the snake escapes, and the classroom is in turmoil. All three kids end up with Ms. Gold in her bungalow for a "brain break". They practice breathing, listen to soothing music, and are given Mindful Me journals. They become friends, and decide that they might want to help out at Dave's Doggy Day Care. ZoZo takes a liking to a dog named Sparky who is usually very loud, but calms down in ZoZo's presence. The kids hope that one of them can adopt the dog, even though all of their parents say no. The kids manage to collect $50, and try to pretend to be adults in order to adopt a dog. They are turned down, in part because "Barky" was already adopted. It turns out that Tony's Grandma Candy has decided that Barky would be a good addition to the family. The kids decide to become the After-School Kindness Crew after spending more time with Ms. Gold, and they even help Lyle Lemon, who has been mean to them for most of the book.