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Billie B Brown #4
Billie B. Brown: The Second-Best Friend
Billie has always been best friends with Jack. But now Rebecca wants to be her best friend! Who will Billie choose?
44 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
18 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Sally Rippin
784 books224 followersSally Rippin was born in Darwin, but grew up mainly in South-East Asia. As a young adult she lived in China for three years, studying traditional Chinese painting. Sally has over seventy books published, many of them award-winning, including two novels for young adults. Her most recent work includes the highly acclaimed children’s novel Angel Creek and the popular Billie B Brown books, which became the highest selling series for 6-8 year olds in Australia within the first year of their release. Sally is Australia’s highest selling female author and her Billie B Brown books have sold more than 4.5 million copies in 14 languages.
Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.
Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 5, 2015
I think Billie B. really struggles sometimes between being a tomboy and wanting to be really girly. So it makes sense that she'd want a female friend as much as she loves to hang out with Jack. I'm not altogether sure her motivation for choosing the friend she does is exactly great, but it's honest which is what counts. This is a difficult thing for kids at this age, so I really liked this book which address so many of the emotional issues involved here.
June 10, 2022
Billie B Brown walks to school and back with Jack. He's her best friend. Jack gave her sparkly coloured pens that smell like fruit. She takes them out at school to use. Lola and her friends tease Billie calling Jack her boyfriend.
Rebecca has long plaits. She also has a gorgeous pony. When she asks Billie to swap her toy pony for her coloured pens, Billie gets confused. Jack would be upset if she gave away her present. Rebecca says Billie can come to her house and play. They could be friends. Billie agrees but she gets a strange feeling in her tummy.
When Billie and Jack walk home from school, Rebecca and her mother are there. Billie sees how sad Jack is but she wants to go to Rebecca's. The funny feeling in her tummy gets worse when she has sweet cupcakes at Rebecca's. Billie decides she has to give the pony back to Rebecca.
She tells Rebecca that Jack is her Best Friend and he makes terrific cubby houses. Billie suggests Rebecca come to help them build the cubby house. Rebecca says she's got lots of toys, but no friends like Billie. They agree to be Second-best Friends together.
As always, Sally Rippin gets a message across to early readers with feelings and ways to solve problems they might face.
Rebecca has long plaits. She also has a gorgeous pony. When she asks Billie to swap her toy pony for her coloured pens, Billie gets confused. Jack would be upset if she gave away her present. Rebecca says Billie can come to her house and play. They could be friends. Billie agrees but she gets a strange feeling in her tummy.
When Billie and Jack walk home from school, Rebecca and her mother are there. Billie sees how sad Jack is but she wants to go to Rebecca's. The funny feeling in her tummy gets worse when she has sweet cupcakes at Rebecca's. Billie decides she has to give the pony back to Rebecca.
She tells Rebecca that Jack is her Best Friend and he makes terrific cubby houses. Billie suggests Rebecca come to help them build the cubby house. Rebecca says she's got lots of toys, but no friends like Billie. They agree to be Second-best Friends together.
As always, Sally Rippin gets a message across to early readers with feelings and ways to solve problems they might face.
Read
November 19, 2021This was great. As well as creating a sense of nostalgia for adult readers, The Second-Best Friend captured the ups and downs of children's friendships.
What I really like about this series (and its spinoff) is that the stories could easily veer into stereotypes and clichés, but they never do. In another author's hands the new friend, Rebecca, could have been a much more predictable and unlikeable character,
I'm glad Sally Rippin never takes her readers exactly where they expect to go.
Super-short, as all of these books are, the author still manages to pack a satisfying story in only a few pages.
What I really like about this series (and its spinoff) is that the stories could easily veer into stereotypes and clichés, but they never do. In another author's hands the new friend, Rebecca, could have been a much more predictable and unlikeable character,
I'm glad Sally Rippin never takes her readers exactly where they expect to go.
Super-short, as all of these books are, the author still manages to pack a satisfying story in only a few pages.
February 13, 2018
Lauryn says this book was fast to read. Billie B’s first best friend was Jack, but now she is also friends with Rebecca, and she’s worried about Jack’s feelings. Lola teases Billie, and that is NOT okay. This book has a happy ending!
February 3, 2024
Billie B Brown #4
These are not big issues BBB faces in the scheme of everything, but they are big to her, and again this is written in a way that is understandable, and engaging and can help young readers with similar issues.
Well recommended.
These are not big issues BBB faces in the scheme of everything, but they are big to her, and again this is written in a way that is understandable, and engaging and can help young readers with similar issues.
Well recommended.
February 27, 2018
😐😑😴😕 BABYISH REALLY BABYISH!!!😕😴😑😐😨😱
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August 19, 2022Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
July 4, 2016
3-Sally Rippin, “Billie B Brown: The Second-Best Friend” (Prahran, Victoria, Aust: Hardie Grant Egmont, 2010).
“Billie wants to eat another cake but her tummy is feeling funny.” (p32) Billie needs to put right something she has done in order to restore your conscience.
The 'Billie B Brown' series by Australian author Sally Rippin is a wonderful set of books helping young kids acknowledge and deal with their range of emotions that arise from various childhood predicaments. These books reinforce the positive outcome of good decision making.
“Billie wants to eat another cake but her tummy is feeling funny.” (p32) Billie needs to put right something she has done in order to restore your conscience.
The 'Billie B Brown' series by Australian author Sally Rippin is a wonderful set of books helping young kids acknowledge and deal with their range of emotions that arise from various childhood predicaments. These books reinforce the positive outcome of good decision making.
May 21, 2013
Billie and Jack are very best friends, and she loves the sparkly pens he gave her as a present. But when Rebecca, another classmate, wants to trade her toy pony for the pens and be friends, Billie is torn between her loyalty to Jack and her interest in making new friends. Readers will enjoy how she resolves her dilemma.
November 30, 2016
I think this book is great for realistic-fiction. In elementary school you had a best friend one week and a different one the next. I think this book is great for younger elementary school kids. I think they would really be able to relate. It is also great for younger children to read to gain some experience transitioning into long chapter books.
February 3, 2017
Great book series for kids just venturing into chapter books. This one focuses on Billie trying to juggle having best friend and making a new friend and how doing the right thing really does make you feel better.
October 17, 2015
good. It tell we you can someone some things, that can make he/she feel good.
January 25, 2016
I like this book because it is funny
Want to read
June 12, 2016that's really cool
October 23, 2016
Billie has to figure out why her tummy feels funny and why she's feels bad. She discovers the problem and the BEST solution.
Want to read
May 28, 2018O
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews