Amber Brown Is Not A Crayon

A is for Amber

by Paula Danziger, Tony Ross

Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends. They've known each other for practically forever, sit next to each other in class, help each other with homework, and always stick up for each other.
Justin never says things like, "Amber Brown is not a crayon." Amber never says, "Just in Time." They're a great team - until disaster strikes.
Justin has to move away, and now the best friends are fighting. Will they be able to work it out before it's too late?

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Humor

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 1994

About the author

Paula Danziger was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her books were still in print; they had been published in 53 countries and translated into 14 languages.

Reviews

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Amber Brown book was my sanctuary as a child.
I've read every one, and I am proud to say she was my role model as a child. I wanted to wear a white shirt and black stockings every single day.
I was also considering changing my name to Violet Green.

[Sweetdhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me tell you something Amber...

People do leave
wether for their own will, or just because they have to.

and for so many reasons, we stil can not accept that.
we deny that.
no matter which shoes we stand for.
the one who leave, or the one who being left.

So, Amber Brown, who is not a crayon,
Cherish the moments with your loved ones.
Look to their eyes, smile a lot.
For you don't know when the time would come.

Be thankful for the friendship that you and justin had.
For some people, me as the nearest example, friendship is a cheap thing when ego collides.
And suddenly, it's gone.
The friendship.
The friend is gone.
The ship is sank.

and there's nothing i can do

[Ambreen Bilgrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amber Brown series, is the first book in the series and is a must for any growing girl. It is a great series for young girls and there is no doubt that whoever you are, and at whatever age you are there is something in Amber you can relate to. If it's her messy hair, her love of Bubble gum, her parent's divorce or the moving away of her best friend, there is something you can identify with.

The first book in the series, ‘Amber Brown is Not a Crayon’ sees amber deal with her best friend moving away to another city as well as coping with her parents divorce. It’s a book many children will be able to relate to, which deals with issues in a realistic way. It will help children who are going through similar problems of their own.

The series is told is first person, voiced by Amber Brown. It is a humorous read, and as the series progresses, Amber gets older and faces other common problems that readers will again be able to identify with. The series would be suitable for KS2 children to read on their own. However, the books are more aimed at a female audience. There is a good balance of pictures that helps readers picture Amber and her friends and family. Paula Danziger gets an accurate message across to her target audience.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I went to the Salvation Army to look around, my mom and I saw these books. One of the books I got today was this book. The main reason I wanted this book was because I remember being in elementary school and my teachers reading these books. Also, it's because it has my name in the title! (added benefit! =] ). I sat here tonight and read this book, and it was a great book and it reminded me of when I moved from Alabama to Georgia in the 3rd grade. In the book, Amber Brown has to deal with her best friend, Justin, moving away to Alabama. She does not want Justin to move away with his family and they tried to make deals, but the job was just too good for his dad to pass up. When Justin was packing up, he "threw away" Justin and Amber's gum ball ( sort of like a rubber band ball) and Amber stops talking to him. I remember the TY beanie baby my best friend gave to me when I moved away. After I moved to Georgia, the talking to my best friend became a WHOLE lot harder. So from it all, I understand Amber Brown's concern with her and Justin losing touch and moving ALL the way to Alabama!
This is a great book for the child who is losing a best friend to a move!

[Camila Riquelme Jaque · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tengo este libro desde hace muchísimo tiempo en mi librero, y la verdad es que ya no podía continuar postergando la lectura de éste porque probablemente cumpliría 40 años antes de decidir si leerlo, o no.

"¿Seguiremos siendo amigos?" Es un cuento infantil en donde la protagonista -una chica de tercero de primaria llamada Ámbar- experimenta la perdida de su mejor amigo, pues éste se va a mudar a un nuevo sitio.
La historia me ha parecido conmovedora, divertida, y por supuesto, un poco triste. Cuando uno es pequeño hay muchas cosas que no dependen de uno, y pues no hay más que aceptar ciertas cosas, y eso es exactamente lo que pasa con Ámbar. Aún así creo que es una linda historia que habla del poder de la amistad y el cariño que existe entre dos niños pequeños.
Me parece una lectura ideal para niños de 6 u 8 años en adelante, sin limites. jajaja

[Marcia Sofía Esperanza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lectura rápida agradable pero no extrañable

[Tatum M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book Amber Brown is not a crayon is about a girl named Amber Brown and her best friend named Justin Daniels. Justin and Amber sit next to each other in every class. These to crazy kids help each other with fractions and spelling, and always stick up for each other. Soon Justin finds out he is moving to Alabama because his dad got a new job in Alabama. Amber and Justin soon get into a fight because Amber is very sad that Justin is moving to Alabama, and that they have already sold their house. Will Amber Brown and Justin Daniels ever be friends again...read the book to find out. This book made me feel like is was in the story watching all of this happen. I would recommend this book to people that like books like Smile. HAPPY READING!!!!!!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a childhood favorite of mine that I really wanted to reread, mainly because I couldn't remember anything other than how much I loved it. After finishing it, I totally know why I loved Amber Brown more than any other character in the other books I had read. Not only did I identify with her on a ton of different levels, but this book also explored emotions that I had many times growing up in a military family. The feeling of loss when people move is a difficult thing for a grade-schooler to understand and cope with. I definitely didn't realize that as a kid, but I can very much appreciate the accessibility and openness of this book with dealing with those emotions. It felt very real.

[Alondra]

This book was about amber brown and her best friend .They were good friends until one of them moved.Thwy had to result in the conflict.Also they say that amber brown in a brown crayons beacuse of her last name .They be mean to her and bully her.I learned that u should always think you have like real friends.I would recomened this book to everyone and girls that are growing up beacuse to make sure stuff like bullying doesnt happened .

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be goood if you like easy books to read. Short but sweet pages and if you had a best friend that moved away and you really miss he or she, this book would be good to make you feel not so sad about your friends leaving. This book will make you smile about every good memory you have with you friend.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Amber Brown book and I really, really liked it. The book has a way of being fun and silly, but it also has a really important message. It's a valuable message at any age - some adults still don't get this stuff!

[Marta Boksenbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book as a child, it has not lost its charm. Amber is so loveable, quirky and messy and so real that you feel that you know her. I enjoyed rereading it immensely

[Katenita · Rating 3 out of 5]

i like the way amber and justin's friendship was.

[Nishama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the content of the book. It addressed how children deal with changes.

[Madison Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book it's about Amber friend and her fight because they have a ball of gum and they don't know who should get it😆😆😩

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

i want to know where this guy is teaching that he can afford to buy his students so much food. amber brown is a cute girl. i love that she has real struggles with her parents divorce.

[Olivia Rooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accually read the graphic novel, made me cry and also made me think of MY friend that moved away. A definate must read

[daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

cuando chica me hicieron leer solo la secuela así que esto completó algo que me quedó inconcluso en la infancia

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable book. I met Paula Danzinger when this book first came out and she actually signed it backwards. What an amazing human, gone too soon.

[Poly]

Es más bonito de lo que espere y triste :( porque decirle adiós a tus amigos no es nada fácil

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was such a nostalgia trip. I thought I remembered how much I loved these books the second I saw the original nine book set for sale on ebay, but no, I actually remembered how much I loved it while tearing up at the chapter 8 revelation that comes after Amber's conversation with her mother. I'm so excited to continue into the next book.

And of course, as is my habit, I've arranged my takeaway thoughts on this book into a haiku:

"With stages like grief,
Children learn distance means change.
It doesn’t mean the end."

[Peyton Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a pair of best friends, and one of them is moving away. It is narrated by Amber Brown, a third grader. Amber and her best friend, Justin, have been best friends since pre-school, so the fact that Justin is moving to Alabama is very hard for Amber to deal with. Amber gets mad that Justin does not seem upset that he is moving, so they stop talking. At the very end they both apologize and go back to being best friends, looking forward to the summer when Amber and her mom can come visit Justin in Alabama.

This story is very cute, and there were several lines in it that talked about how children's thoughts and feelings were important, and I think that is a wonderful thing for a child to read.

This story could be used in a classroom to show the importance of friendship and making up after a fight, both apologizing and forgiving.

[Hannah Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon is about a little girl in third grade who finds out her best friend is going to be moving in a few weeks. Amber and her best friend Justin get into an argument right before he leaves and stopped talking. Amber must decide on how to handle the emotions she is experiencing to make things right before Justin leaves.

Evaluation: This is a sweet book that explains that children can have real emotions too, and sometimes they don’t know how to express them. In this story, Amber and Justin both struggle with expressing their emotions and Amber must make the decision to stop being mad at Justin to give him a proper farewell.

Teaching Ideas: This book could be used to teach children about expressing their emotions. It could also be tied into a lesson for adjectives, and having the children use Amber and Justin as their examples and then having them choose adjectives that describe them and a time they had emotions towards an event they experienced and how they responded to it.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been looking for a book that reminds me of the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary and this one came pretty close. Amber Brown stands on her own as a main character and the story itself would be relevant for many children. Amber’s relationship with her best friend, Justin, was well depicted, as well as the situation they find themselves in. I especially loved the moment Amber and her mom shared regarding the friendship.

This had just the right amount of silliness and drama. The teacher having his class “travel” to different countries to learn about them sounded so neat. The illustrations didn’t do much for me but that’s okay as I mostly listened to this one via audio and enjoyed the narration. I will be reading the rest and perhaps check out the television series. I would have loved these as a child.

3.5 stars

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just didn't inspire me to want to read any more of the series. Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends, but you find out right away that Justin will be moving. So it's hard to invest any feelings into their relationship when you know it's going to end by the end of the book. I think everyone can relate to having a friend move away or being the friend that moves away, but when you haven't sunk a couple books worth of feelings into the relationship (think Ramona Quimby when they thought they might have to move to a rural town for her dad to find a teaching job toward the end of the series), it's just hard to really relate. And I didn't super like any of the characters. Just kind of meh for me.

[Kayla Boerner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it is relatable to what is important in a child's life at that time, having friends. It also talks about the troubles of having a friend move away. This was increasingly difficult before the mass technology that we have today as compared to when it was originally published in the mid-90s. I gave this book three stars because I felt that the book, while funny, was still missing something that would make it more impactful.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series when I was a kid, and so many parts of this book were iconic in my childhood. This was more nostalgic than I thought it would be - I loved the snarky voice of Amber Brown, and she has a lot of heart that held up over time. The first book was super quick to breeze through, but I remembered most of the details, which was surprising. Amber Brown was one of the classic series when I was younger, and I'd definitely be willing to reread all that I can.

[Carson Gentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this books. I believe it is the first in a series and I feel that it would really attract girls that are growing older and creating great relationships. The main character Amber Brown is about to experience a great change. Her best friend Justin is moving but will she be able to survive without him or will his moving create strife in their relationship.

This book is just great for any girl. Especially girls that a growing up.

[Sara M · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes the Amber Brown books stand out is Amber herself. She has such a funny, adorable personality. Paula Danziger (RIP) had the books address the issue of friends moving in such an appropriate, realistic manner. It never felt like the book was talking down to the age demographic. I appreciate how she wrote the books to be timeless as well. I only read a few Amber Brown books as a kid, but I still found this to be a fun, nostalgic read. I can definitely recommend it to the kids at work.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber's best friend Justin is moving! Amber Brown needs a new best friend. How will she live without Justin?

I give it four stars because it makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. The reason it did not get five stars is that it isn't as funny as Junie B. Jones and My Weird School. This book is good for people who need to appreciate their friends more.

[Candy, age 9]