Karen falls out of bed after a bad dream and thus begins a bad day in which nothing works out as intended: the cereal box doesn't contain the promised prize, her favorite show is bumped for a news report, the ice cream truck is out of the flavor she wants, and so on. Is she stuck in a spiral all day long?

The "Little Sister" line of the BSC is perfect for readers who love the series and want a little more, as well as for their younger siblings who aren't quite ready for the more advanced themes and vocabulary of the mainline stories but want to be in the know.

Like with the main BSC titles, these stories tackle fairly typical kid problems, generally showing good values along the way. In this one, Karen does come across as a little more bratty so I had a harder time liking it, even if the behaviors are fair for a child learning to regulate emotions. But she is very mean to her siblings and friends just because she herself is having a bad day, behaving rather selfish. However, all's well that ends well when she makes sure to apologize to everyone for her mistakes. ( )

Great! I thought Karen felt like a real, little kid with some of her thinking. She acts like a certified brat in this book, but these are all ways I've seen kids act out, especially when she gets mad Andrew gets a toy instead of her. ( )

Oh boy. A whole book of Karen being bratty and whiny as she catalogues her gripes about the day. I was too worn down by the pessimism to care when things started to turn around for her. ( )