This is the first in a new series by Springboard Books and we rather enjoyed it. A Job for Jenny Archer introduces us to Jenny and her best friend Wilson, as we start out, Jenny is confessing that her mother's birthday is 3 weeks away and she's only got .27 to her name...and she REALLY wants to get her mom a nice gift. In fact, Jenny wants to get her mom a fur coat...and she's just got to figure out a way to get one for her! How? Well, Jenny sets out to get herself a job to earn the money! She tires out a series of "jobs" (pet trainer & babysitter) none of which actually work out and her little adventure with making the money ends in a hilarious attempt to get it by selling their house! She's sympathetic because she wants to get a super gift for her mom on her own and funny because she can't seem to get it right. It's a pleasure to travel with her through this little adventure and provides a good "message" to young self-readers without being too in your face with it.

A Job for Jenny Archer introduces us to a rather interesting new set of characters that should prove to be quite enjoyable. These are easy to read chapter books, ideal for readers transitioning from story books to all word chapter books, they even have simple (but extremely well done) line drawings, to help bring the story to life! I give it a B+ and would recommend it to new self-readers! ( )

Lexile: 400
Reading Recovery: 17
DRA: 18
Fountas Pinnel Guided Reading: J