Susan Saunders

*spoiler warning*

From the beginning I did not like the main character, Jessie. An 8-year-old who thinks she's an "expert" at riding horses even though she's never ridden at all, just read books and watched movies. She expects to ride a *Thoroughbred* first-thing. This annoys me to no end; Being horse-crazy myself as a kid, I know what it's like to want it so badly, but it's also good to actually be realistic about what you do and don't know.

Throughout the book Jessie just gets more and more show more annoying. She's convinced that a classmate, Maxine, can't *possibly* be a good rider because she's no good at baseball/etc. Those things are nothing alike. She is so set on riding an experienced horse that she fell in love with because it's "pretty" that she pays no attention at all to the pony she is actually assigned to. (also, sidenote, the author seems to use "pony" and "horse" interchangably, even though she actually mentions the difference between the two.)

Jessie is so snobby and nose-turned-up, to her horse and the entire riding process... "I couldn't wait to get off the horse that made me look like a beginner" I wanted to smack her when I read that sentence. It was her very first time riding a horse, she couldn't *be* more beginner! And she was daydreaming, closing her eyes, while on Ranger, instead of actually paying attention. It wasn't his fault.

It was great that Jessie finally realized what an awesome, experienced pony Ranger was, and how experienced she was *not*. But by that time I was so fed up with Jessie's attitude that her turn-around did nothing to make me like her. Or like the book. show less

ISBN 0590439278 – Sleepover Friends, overall, hasn’t impressed me as a series because it seems, like several other series, to be a slightly less well done imitation of the Babysitters Club series (and the spinoffs of that series). Both series contain many of the same elements, relationships and even have some plotlines in common. That said, I find that, taken individually, the SF books are quite good – and I’m beginning to think I need to re-think my take of the series as a show more whole!

There’s a new girl in 5B. Her name is Hope, which some of the kids find weird, and she dresses like a hippie, which they find even weirder. Patti and her friends try to get to know her, but have little luck. Kate thinks Hope is hiding something and Patti’s beginning to wonder herself. At the same time, Patti is worried about Horace, her younger brother, who’s been moved up a grade and is suffering from some teasing. All of this is going on as Valentine’s Day, complete with a class party, approaches and Patti frets over whether or not she should give Henry a special valentine. And, of course, whether he’ll give her one, as well.

Sure, there’s the BSC comparison, but really – you’ve got more than enough room for more books, don’t you? One positive I’ve been finding is that, if your daughter (these really are girly kind of series) isn’t into babysitting, she might identify more with the Sleepover Friends, or even the Gymnasts series by Elizabeth Levy. The stories within one series can be a little too similar to a story in another series, but that may simply be just because they’re common tales nowadays and readers will relate to them. Best of all, Sleepover Friends don’t really have to be read in order, so if you happen to pick up a random handful, they’re still enjoyable! RL4, ages 8-12.

- AnnaLovesBooks, 2008 show less

Third graders LOVED this book! Where else can you find out that Ulysses S. Grant once got a $20 speeding ticket for driving too fast in Washingon, DC? Or that Andrew Jackson's pet parrot had to be takent away at his funeral because it was swearing. This book works great with a KWL chart asking students what they already know about the Preisents, what they want to know, and what they learned.

In this first book of the Sleepover Friends series, Stephanie invites a new girl in school, Patti, to the Friday-evening sleepovers she has with Lauren and Kate. During a TV movie, Kate imitates an actress and puts a curse on Pattiand it seems to work. Only Lauren and Patti notice, but Patti can't do anything right. The act of curing Patti involves a couple of false starts, but her luck does turn, and it benefits them all. The characters sound and behave alike, almost indistinguishable from show more one another. But the realistic sleepover atmosphere, capitalized on several times, holds this book together: late-night movies, spooky sounds, creating hairstyles, boy talk and buckets of junk food. Ages 8-12. show less