Jacqui Robbins

Shakeeta is the new girl in Mia's class and the teacher asks the kids to help Shakeeta feel at home. Mia puts a nice twist on determining if Shakeeta really feels at home "unless her house is like school, and she has 18 girls there who all want to show her around." Mia is also intrigued by Shakeeta's pet iguana and uses that fact as a springboard to tentatively extend her friendship. The insecurities of being the new kid and taking a chance are nicely developed.

A wonderful way to demonstrate to kids how to make amends for a bad decision and what true friendship feels like. Julisa's emotional turmoil is captured perfectly.

Kayla and Melanie love to work together on projects. They are very much alike and sometimes they dress the same way. At recess, they sit together on the jungle gym. They don't want anyone else to join them.

Anna and Julisa also like to be partners at school. They both wear glasses and sometimes they laugh so hard that their glasses fall off. At recess, Anna and Julisa sit together. They are friendly and would be happy to have any of their classmates join them.

In class, Kayla and Melanie show more sometimes make fun of the other children and, one day, they make fun of Julisa and her glasses. When Anna is unexpectedly partnered with Melanie for a science project, she is able to share her knowledge.

Melanie says I am so smart. She says maybe I am cool after all...
"Hey," she says, pulling my arm away from the mess. "Do you want to play with us?"

Like magic, Anna is invited to sit with Kayla and Melanie at recess. Anna's two new companions laugh at Julisa and continue to exclude her.

Fortunately, Anna pauses to consider her relationship with Julisa and before long she realizes where true friendship and her loyalty lies.

Two of a Kind is a thought-provoking depiction of how easily children can be lured by the desire to be popular and how difficult it is to be outcast. Sure to prompt discussions about friendship, loyalty and standing up for what is right, it is best suited to readers aged five and up. show less

Wow. I liked this book for a lot of reasons but mainly for the message it sends to children. There are two pairs of friends that “are two of a kind”. However, one of the pairs is smart and loves school while the others think they are to cool for school. The language shows a clear distinction between the two pairs one being rude and the others that are nice. The one pair sits on the jungle jim at recess and doesn’t let invite anyone else. They make fun of one girl and call her Miss big show more eyes because of her glasses. The other pair invites everyone to play but no one does. Eventually the girl from the not so popular group gets invited from the group. This is where the plot thickens. The organized plot allows the girl to make a decision of either staying with her new friends, that are mean, or go back to her true friend. The illustrations are great and show the reader exactly what is happening in the text. The facial expressions of the children give a true meaning to the words describing them. The characters are well developed and are the whole reason the story gives a great representation of the overall meaning. The view is of the girl who has to make an important decision. She ends up making the right choice and going back to her true friend in the end. The message of this book is to not conform, for children to be themselves and not care what anyone else has to say about it. show less