Short Summary: Emma is an only-child that is very used to being an only child until Anthony moves in and totally ruins the peace. It is a story of her struggle with having to share things for the first time and having to share her life- not just her room. Eventually, she ends up really liking him.

Personal Reflection: This was a cute story broken up into several different little chapters. This is a good lesson on being flexible and having to make adjustments. I would use this for an independent read and have students make a little reflection after they are done reading about similar experiences they may have had.

This book is about a girl names Emma who is an only child. A boy named Anthony moves into her room for a while and she hates it at first. He ruins everything he touches and he smells. After having him around, she begins to like him and doesn't really want him to leave. She liked being an only child but at the same time, she grew to enjoy having Anthony around as a "little brother"

I thought this book was cute. I liked how the author gave you details about Emma's life simply through dialogue. Instead of writing out pages of history she just introduced it through dialogue. ( )

Third-grader Emma's peaceful life as an only child is disrupted when she has to temporarily share her tidy bedroom with four-year-old Anthony Scarpetto, a bona fide "pain in the patootie."

One theme in Only Emma teaches children that they will have to make adjustments in their lives. A second theme teaches sharing, not only possessions, but your heart as well. The characters in Only Emma are convincing and credible. The story is easy to read and is divided into eleven short chapters. The chapters are listed in a table of contents. Abstract-like illustrations are done in black and white. The illustrations add value to the story and are helpful for transitional readers to learn how to visualize characters and the action taking place in the story. ( )