One day Katie wished that she could be anyone but herself, and she has been regretting that ever since. Twice already a strong magical wind has come and changed Katie into someone else (first the class hamster, then a lunch lady), and as Katie stands in front of her best friend Suzanne’s baby sister Heather and feels the magical wind coming back she knows she is in trouble. This transitional chapter book consists of short chapters, with black and white illustrations resembling anime that appear every few pages. The plot starts off slow, but the pace quickens as Katie transforms into a baby and remains fast for the remainder of the story. Once Katie is transformed into baby Heather readers will laugh at the silly things she finds herself doing reflexively and will share her sense of panic when Suzanne and her other best friend Jeremy decide to change Heather’s diaper! What will Katie do to get herself out of that? What she does will create a mess for Suzanne and Jeremy, so what will she do to save her friends’ reputations? You will have to read the book to find out! ( )

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in the body of your best friend’s baby sister? Cry, of course! Which is exactly what Katie Kazoo does in Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo: Oh, Baby! The third book in the series by Nancy Krulik finds Katie, who gets switched into other people’s bodies by a magic wind, in the tough position of being in the body of a baby…with a wet diaper. Even more humiliating than that is the fact that her best friend, Suzanne, is about to change the diaper! Throwing caution to the wind, Katie tells Suzanne that she doesn’t want to be changed. This shocks Suzanne, as well as their friend Jeremy, who just happens to be the editor of the class newspaper. Jeremy rushes off without explanation, but after Katie has switched back and is in school the next day, she finds out why. He ran an article in the paper about Suzanne’s three month old baby sister being able to talk! Horrified, Katie tries to prevent Suzanne from inviting their classmates over to hear her genius sister, but she fails and Suzanne and Jeremy are humiliated when little Heather doesn’t talk. Desperate to save her friends any more embarrassment, Katie takes the heat by learning ventriloquism and says that she’s the one who made Heather talk.
Oh, Baby! is slow to start, and does not pick up much steam as the story continues. Katie’s dilemma of being in a wet diaper is one that generates more of a “yuck” than an “uh-oh” response and her quick fix at the end of the book when she suddenly announces that she’s been studying ventriloquism for a year is far from convincing. There are black and white cartoon-like illustrations by John and Wendy that are cute and fun to look at, but they cannot salvage the story. If students are already into this series, they will want to read this third installment. Best suited for grades 3 – 5. ( )