The Littlest Bigfoot

The Littlest Bigfoot
by Jennifer Weiner
304 pages, ages 8-12
Aladdin, 2016

Twelve-year-old Alice doesn't fit it . She's big, ungainly, and her hair is wild and sproingy - no matter how many clips or scrunchies she uses to tame it.

Now she's been shipped her off to her eighth boarding school in as many years. This one's an experimental school in Upstate New York, a converted campground where hippies-turned-teachers refer to students as "learners" and school lunches are full of whole grains and kale. It is a place where everyone is accepted and their differences celebrated. At least that's what it says on the brochure.

Millie Maximus doesn't fit in. She is too small and her hair is too white and fine. Sometimes she wonders if she really is a Bigfoot - or Yare, as the clan call themselves. Millie loves to sing and her secret wish is that she will be discovered and sing on TV. She's insatiably curious about the "no furs" and wonders what her life would be like if she weren't so furry. Her curiosity drives her to steal a canoe and paddle across the lake, and her actions put her entire clan at risk.

Jeremy Bigelow doesn't fit it. A seventh-grader at Standish Middle School, he  is a nerd with single-minded passion: to find a Bigfoot. There are local legends about Bigfoot in the area, and years ago one was captured and put in a circus. When he is invited to join an underground group of Bigfoot hunters, his dreams come true: he discovers evidence that there are Bigfoot in the area. Now all he has to do is prove it!

This is a wonderful adventure about friendship and finding your place in the world. Check out a video and read an excerpt from Littlest Bigfoot here. 

We'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading.
Review copy provided by the publisher.