Friday, November 12, 2021

A Tale of Two Audreys

 

Audrey L and Audrey W: Best Friends-ish
by Carter Higgins; illus. by Jennifer K. Mann 
184 pages; ages 6-9
Chronicle Books, 2021

It’s always fun to dive into the first book in a new chapter book series. And after hearing about Audrey L. and Audrey W, I could not wait! 

It’s the beginning of the school year, and Audrey is super-duper-duper sure that second grade will be twice as fun as first. Plus they get to put on a play – with costumes and everything! But second grade isn’t turning out to be so great after all. Sure, there are all kinds of new things to learn and do, but the teacher stuck Mimi’s artwork at the top of the filing cabinet, and Audrey’s is stuck somewhere in the middle. And Diego, who was Audrey’s first friend in first grade won’t even tell her any jokes.

And to top it off, Audrey isn’t even the only Audrey in class. There’s a new Audrey, so now Audrey has to go by Audrey L. and the new girl by Audrey W.

Maybe, though… just maybe they could become best friends?



What I like about this book: I love that Audrey W.’s reputation precedes her: she’s eaten crickets! And I like how Audrey L. tries to welcome the new Audrey, and befriend her … and make friendship mistakes. Fortunately, second grade friendship mistakes can sometimes be put to rights – if one makes the effort. I also like how Ms. Fincastle refers to her students as her “little chickens” and I love her list of classroom jobs: plant waterer, recycling boss, welcome ambassador, and my fave, paper passer-outer. 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.


10 comments:

  1. This sounds like a perfect series for this age group.

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  2. This sounds like a great chapter book for a girl. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. This sounds like a fun book for elementary school students. Thanks for reviewing.

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  4. What a sweet book for second graders. Don't often see books singled out for that year. Perfect for a great niece! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I agree that books set in second grade are few and far between. Parents in grades 1-4 are always looking for recommendations and this is the perfect choice. Thanks for featuring on MMGM.

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  6. This looks cute! Eating crickets? I'm impressed. (Not that I want to eat a cricket!) Thanks for sharing.

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  7. This sounds like an awesome book for second graders! From your review it really sounds perfect for the age group and the title is great. Thanks for sharing. :)
    ~Jess

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  8. This sounds like a delightful read—and like Jess says, perfect for its audience! (And even outside its audience—I got pretty absorbed in just the little passage you included!) All the little details remind me so much of how I used to think as a kid. Thanks so much for the great review, Sue!

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  9. How fun—the idea of two kids bonding over having the same name! And the illustrations are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. I just love books for this age. The idea of not being the only Audrey in a class is a fun problem for a book. I think I will have to check these books out. Thanks for the heads up.

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