What I appreciate most about this book is the great job it does of tackling the tough issue of divorce, but at the same time it evokes much laughter and enjoyment. Amelia is a young girl who is living with her mom and aunt at her aunt's house. Her parents are divorced. Amelia is facing the challenges of meeting all new friends and beginning the school year at a new school. The divorce and aftermath are addressed from a child's perspective.
My favorite scene is when Amelia demonstrates a heart of generousity by giving one of her Christmas presents to a friend in need. I felt a sob escape from my throat. From reading this book, I learned that a graphic novel experience can be quite moving.
Amazon indicates this book is for children from age 7 - 12, but I believe that it is better suited for ages 9 - 13. Much of the vocabulary is complex and some of the jokes will likely go unobserved by young children.
One text feature I was particularly delighted in was the way the illustrator varied the color and shape of the speech bubbles. When the character was angry, the speech bubble was either white and shaped like icicles, or dark gray like a thunder cloud. When the character was infatuated with another character, the speech bubble was shaped like a heart. Those are just a couple of examples. There were quite a few variations.
Yawn! This book was a little too long for me and was difficult for me to read. I don't think this is a just right book for me. After the first few pages, I put it back on the shelf. Mom seemed to love it, though!
Classroom Applications:
- Ask students to discuss why the illustrator chose to use different shapes and colors for the speech bubbles throughout the book (pink heart, icicles, thunder cloud, white cloud, black bubble with white font, etc.). Then students can have the option of creating their own graphic novel "cartoon" pages during writing time. Encourage them to come up with unique speech bubbles of their own creations.
- After reading page 20, ask students to work with a partner to answer the following question: "Who got the better deal from their agreement, Reggie or Amelia? How do you know?"
Jimmy Gownley's Author Website
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