In many a SCBWI conference, I have heard the name of Amber Brown, one of those unforgettable characters. Likewise her creator, author Paula Danziger, who from what I can tell, was quite a character herself. Paula Danziger has written over thirty books, several about divorce. Amber Brown is Feeling Blue (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998; this edition illustrated by Tony Ross) is one of these.
Amber is what you’d call a character. She’s got what you’d call personality. She paints the dog’s toenails. She puts candy corns on pizza: “It’s a new reciple. Try it.” She loves her name Amber Brown (although she used to hate it because it’s also the shade of a crayon): “It’s a very colorful name for a very colorful person.”
But Amber’s also got a problem. Where should she spend Thanksgiving? Her parents are divorced. Amber lives with her mom who will soon be marrying Max. Mom and Max want Amber to go to Walla Walla, Washington to visit Max’s sister for Thanksgiving. Amber’s dad lives in Paris, but he is moving back to New York. He want Amber to spend Thanksgiving with him. The grownups tell Amber, “. . . whatever you want to do, we’ll go along with it.” And Amber thinks, “Why do I have to make the decision?”
Amber thinks, ”I wonder if there is a kind of a dream that is worse than a nightmare. Because that’s what I’m having right now. If I go to Walla Walla with Mom and Max, Dad’s going to be unhappy. If I stay here wth Dad, Mom and Max are going to be unhappy. Either way, I lose. Either way, one of my parents loses. At least, one of them wins. But no matter what, Im going to be the loser.”
All this serious talk is mixed in with a lot of day-to-day fourth grade stuff–Halloween, new kids at school, book reports–and it doesn’t come across heavy-handed. The book is honest about the emotions of divorce. Amber thinks about the way things used to be. When mom and dad were married. When mom and dad got along. And she wishes things could be the way they used to be. But she has positives as well. She likes Max, Mom’s new boyfriend. And she likes her new babysitter. And she likes having two houses to stay in.
In the end Amber says, “I have to make the choice because I have no choice. Sometimes life is confusing. Sometimes it’s not easy. This is one of those times when it’s both . . . confusing and not easy.” Amber Brown is Feeling Blue takes readers on that amazing roller coaster ride known as growing up, complete with all its ups and downs.
Who is the sage of the universe? Who can you go to for wisdom when all around you is confusion? Who can you trust? Yoda, of course. Tommy knows it, and his fellow sixth graders know it. 
Have you ever wished you were an only child? No annoying brother or sister. Parents all to yourself. Your own room and fantastic presents and giant birthday parties and fancy vacations and maybe even a pony (ok, maybe not the pony) . . . 
Since it’s summer, probably the last thing you’re thinking about is a snow day. But in some ways, summertime seems like one long snow day–no school, a change in the schedule, extra family time.
