• Summarize the book
This is a graphic novel about a nine year old girl named Amelia who moves from New York to a small town and is the new kid in school. She moved there because her parents got divorced and now she only lives with her mom who is a musician and a little unattached to Amelia. I thought this book was a little hard to follow but Amelia makes some new friends and they have to deal with some bullies who pick on Amelia because she is new. Even the teachers in her new school are man and when Amelia fights back and even screams in class, she ends up in the principal’s office. There is a lot of slang and strange humor in this book that shows the way Amelia and the other characters feel on their first day of school as well. In the end Amelia writes in her journal about all the things that happened on that day and is just happy that she doesn’t have to go back to gym class.
• Identify the characteristics from the text that support the specific genre (What makes it traditional literature? What makes it historical fiction?)
This is a graphic novel because the story is written by a series of illustrations. The illustrations have bubbles that show what the characters say or think. Some of the pages only have one picture while others have a series of pictures separated into boxes to show the sequence of events.
• Identify specific literary or educational concepts that could be integrated into the classroom. (eg. This book is a good text to use when teaching how to make inferences, or This books deals with bullying and would be useful when beginning a discussion about bullying in the classroom.)
This book deals a lot with bullying and would be useful when beginning a discussion about bullying in the classroom. It also would be a good book for students to read with a partner because there are short sections that they could switch off reading and it would force them to follow along and be sure to read.
• Provide any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated.
I really would not recommend this book to be in a classroom. The book shows seems to make fun of single parents and kids who are shy. Some students may enjoy the sarcastic humor but I thought it was more offensive than thoughtful.