I ordered this book for my niece. I thought either I'd read it to her (she's in the first grade) or I'd put it aside for her to read later if I flipped through it and decided it wasn't really a sharing book. (I refuse to read books that I think are too boring. If my niece likes them, great for her, I'll get them for her if she wants, but she can read them HERSELF.)
When she saw it she immediately screamed "IS THAT FOR ME?" and tried to snatch the book. Now, the girl is a reader, no doubt, but this response was a little extreme! Was it the fact that the protagonist is black, like her? I don't know.
I took the book back, said I'd be glad to let her read it AFTER I breezed through it to make sure it was appropriate. ("Oh, if I only hold up three fingers on the first page, I can read it!" "I don't mean your reading level, honey.") Unfortunately, time has shown me that not every book really has what I like. Too many of them, even my old favorites, end up being put back because I go "Do I really, deep down, want my niece to read this at this age?" So I read through EVERY book before I pass it along or read it with her.
Well, it's not exactly great literature. Ruby and her family are all a little too perfect - most popular kids in school, one skipped a grade - and the ending had me raising my eyebrows a bit - when Ruby takes being selected to read the announcements as a chance to get well-known by singing instead of reading them properly, the principal (formerly portrayed as quite strict) doesn't even tell her to do it right next time, but immediately gushes about how wonderful her singing is and how she can repeat the performance "any time". What? Seriously, what just happened there? Nothing in the real world, that's what.
However, there's nothing offensive in there, and if the book doesn't stand out from other series by being very good, neither does it stand out by being comically bad.
I would give it a solid three stars except that my niece has spent the past day struggling through this book. She's now 42 pages in, and loving it. I *know* it's too hard for her, but she's not letting that stop her. Now, she's a good reader, but she's not that good, and most of the time she gives up if something is too difficult or frustrating. Gives up FAST - she doesn't like feeling like she can't do something. Whatever she's seeing in this book, I want to see more of it. (And it's not like I didn't read my own forgettable fiction at her age. If I don't like it as an adult, well, I'm not the one reading it.)
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Cute book series with realistic minority characters
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2019
This is an early charter book with realistic characters and situations. I love that the main character is a spunky African American girl. There are some illustrations in the book. I think girls , especially ones with older brothers, will love it.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2019
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Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on April 29, 2021
