What I am Reading Today--My Last Best Friend

Ida May is a bright, regular fourth grader who has just suffered the biggest blow of her young life--her best friend Elizabeth, moved away. Once bitten, twice shy, Ida determines never to make another best friend. This should be easily accomplished since class meanie Jenna Drews has made a career out of telling everyone what a loser she is. So when upbeat, popular, newcomer Stacy Merriweather arrives on the scene and wants to be Ida's friend, Ida has absolutely no interest in reciprocating. Uh uh. Not.At.All.

These days I can't seem to read books about little girls without internalizing their struggles, because my own daughter is just setting down this road: learning that life is unfair, that other kids are mean, and that their parents won't always "get" them. Then I read a book like My Last Best Friend, and I feel a little bit better, remembering that there's good stuff too: that kindred spirits hone in on each other no matter what the obstacles, that mom and dad have seen it all themselves and are there for you, that excellent teachers will notice you and encourage you. There are no real surprises in this book--other than the fact that Jenna Drew might actually have a humble side to her. The reader knows that Stacy Merriweather can't be all that she seems (Ida herself has already figured this out,) and you just know that Ida and Stacy are each what the other needs. This book is funny, touching, and gives the reader everything she wants. And with a sequel on the way, that's good news. This is going straight to the 'Staff Picks' shelf at work!

Bedtime Stories

Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World (Hatkoff, Juliana, Isabella and Craig and Dr. Gerald R. Uhlich)
The Adventures of Max and Pinky: Superheroes (Eaton, Maxwell III)

It takes a village to raise a child....and write a book, too, by the looks of it. But Knut is so gosh darn cute it seems churlish to complain. While Knut does not have the emotional cache of Owen and Mzee, the authors try to draw attention to the melting polar caps and the threat of polar bear extinction to give their photo tale some emotional umph. I guess it worked, because as soon as I read the line "Some scientists even believe polar bears could become extinct in our lifetime," my daughter screamed "NO!" I asked her if she knew what "extinct" meant. Well, 'no' to that, too. But clearly, it didn't sound nice. It probably made her think of "exterminate!" which is a familiar word to her, being part of the Dalek vernacular.

Max and Pinky are back in their second book (after The Adventures of Max and Pinky: Best Buds.) They have no problem deciding to be superheroes, but the designation of 'sidekick' causes all sorts of trouble. Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush never had that problem. I was also impressed to discover that Max and Pinky are on Facebook. How very tech savvy of them!