Almost Zero by Nikki Grimes

Is the latest addition to Nikki Grimes’s Dyamonde Daniel series illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Remember Dyamonde? She appeared as the “star” of Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel. She’s the third grader who moves into a neighborhood and finds a new friend named Free.

In this one, Dyamonde’s friends talk her into demanding new sneakers from her mother. Of course this doesn’t go over well and Mom leaves Dyamonde with one outfit and time to figure out the difference between needs and wants.