Maddie Frost

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher for promotional purposes.

This was such a cute read for kids!

The book is told in diary style which made it so engaging to read. I’m a huge fan of diary style stories, especially in middle grade books.

The story perfectly highlighted the awkwardness of growing up. Rubie is 11 years old and has her fair share of super awkward moments at summer camp which I found so relatable. The author captured the preteen experience well.

I also show more enjoyed the emphasis on friendship. One of the central plot points was Rubie making new friends at camp while maintaining her current friendship with her BFF, Riley. The book did a great job showcasing the nuances of friendship.

The story contained a ton of illustrations (in the form of doodles by Rubie) throughout. They were so fun and adorable and added to the humor of the story. The doodles really brought the story to life.

Overall, this was a great start to the series and a fun summer book for middle grade readers! I look forward to seeing what’s in store for Rubie in future installments. show less

Funny crabs, that's what we need more of. Definitely.

Turn the page after a chaotic beach scene and meet Smug Seagull. "Don't waste your time looking at the boring copyright stuff." Just take a look at this amazing seagull and watch them swipe all the food! Sandwiches, chips, no matter what snacks are out there, this gull is the best.

Until a crab shows up on the scene. With a delicious-looking french fry. Hmm, maybe this seagull will just swipe that snack too! Or... not.

Well, no worries, show more seagull is still the best and is off to swipe more snacks. But... oh no! "I've lost my swipe." Will Smug Seagull get their swipe back? Or will the crab teach them an even better way to get snacks?

Careful readers will delight in comparing the wild chaos the opening endpages, with Seagull swiping snacks right and left. to the ending set, as seagull peacefully picks up marshmallows, having learned a better method from the crab. Chaotic, exuberant speech bubbles give a Pigeon-like flavor to Seagull's wild declarations, and colorful cartoons show a diverse range of families enjoying the beach, with or without Seagull snatching their snacks.

Verdict: A silly and fun read-aloud that's sure to tickle your audience's funny bone, while teaching them gently that it's better to ask than just take.

ISBN: 9780316523196; Published May 2020 by Little Brown; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library show less

Summer camp and friendship take unexpected twists with a girl, who tries her best to have fun and stay true to her friends.

Rubie is off to summer camp and can't wait to spend time with her best friend doing all sorts of things...that is, until her best friend brakes her ankle and can no longer go along. Although Rubie doesn't want to go to camp anymore, either, she has no choice because it's already been paid for. Instead, she makes a pact with her bf, agreeing to only do certain things with show more her and not with anyone else during those weeks. At camp, Rubie feels a bit lost and has a hard time meshing with the other campers, even though one of them is her bf's cousin. When Rubie finally finds someone she clicks with, things take a fun turn, but now Rubie is facing even more problems.

This read reminds of Wimpy Kid with its notebook-like formatting and many doodles and sketches. This creates a very relaxed atmosphere, which fits wonderfully to Rubie's scattered personality. Especially in the first pages, her thoughts are a bit all-over-the-place which makes her endearing and full of energy. While this light-hearted peppiness continues throughout the read, the author stuffs all sorts of familiar, middle school drama in between. This not only surrounds Rubie's golden friendship with her best friend, who has to stay at home and is, obviously, disappointed and jealous to an extent, but also the problems involved in meeting new friends. The bullying aspect doesn't hit, which I was happy to see, but it's still difficult to find a person to completely connect with...and even then, there are misunderstandings. Rubie also deals with first crushes and heart breaks, and discovers something new about herself. So, there's quite a bit of goodness for school/life drama fans.

This is a fun read, which keeps humor high while weaving in messages for the middle grade audience, which they can identify with. It's an easy read, keeps the pacing up pretty well, and creates more than a few smiles on the face thanks to Rubie's vibrant personality. It will be interesting to see what she'll be up to next. show less

It is night time in the jungle and all of the animals are asleep except for the Wakey Bird. The Wakey bird cannot sleep. He gets lonely being the only one awake and decides to wake up all of the other birds, but he wakes up animals that are not happy to be woken. What will happen next.
The bright, colorful, simple illustrations are fun and invite reader participation. The author uses varied font sizes and word placement to foster print awareness. The reader will build vocabulary by learning show more that there are words for sounds as there is onomatopoeia used throughout the story. This book is recommended as a storytime read aloud for ages 3-6. It is a great book to talk about fear as the author meets fear with humor. show less