Bargains! PROMOTIONS
BARBARA PARK is beloved by millions as the author of the wildly popular New York Times bestselling Junie B. Jones series, which has been translated into multiple languages and is a time-honored staple in elementary school classrooms around the world. She is also the author of award-winning middle-grade novels and bestselling picture books, including Skinnybones, Almost Starring Skinnybones, Mick Harte Was Here, and The Kid in the Red Jacket. Barbara died in 2013, but her legacy lives on in the laughter her books give to readers all over the world.
A boy learns to adapt to his new environment in this realistic story. Howard, 10, is miserable when his family moves from Arizona to Massachusetts in the middle of the school year. His first days in a new school are as bad as he expects - and, worse, the 7-year-old next door, Molly, decides Howard is her new best friend. After some trial and error, Howard extricates himself from Molly's enthusiasm, and makes some friends his own age. The tone of this first-person narrative is rather unpleasant - Howard's complaints and self-pity get stale long before he stops feeling sorry for himself. The plot seems to be constructed simply as a story about moving, and the writing is undistinguished. There are some strong flashes of humor, however, especially in the interchanges between Howard and Molly. The story's voice usually sounds like that of a real 10-year-old; it might serve to remind a reader in the throes of change that things do get better. (Kirkus Reviews)
