Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang

Breaking away from the traditional chapter-book format, this book features two main characters, Lydia and Julie, and their written communication throughout their fifth grade school year. Determined to figure out how to become popular, the girls vow to study and record the habits of the popular girls. They form a plan, set their goals, and detail their musings and findings in letter writing and illustrating to one another. Each girl’s thoughts are written in her own handwriting and the hilarious colored-pencil drawings complement their points-of-view. Additionally, the book presents an accepting view of alternative families, as neither girl lives in a traditional two-parent household, and Lydia, in fact, lives with her two fathers. The show more result is a witty, humorous example of the challenges and social pressures experienced by preteens. If your readers enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid, they are sure to love this book. Highly recommended. show less

Visually this is one of the coolest, fun, and well put together fiction books I've ever seen, and I don't say that lightly. I loved every page, unlike some illustrated middle grade or children's titles every page in this book is a production, color pencil illustrations, handwriting to represent 2 characters, knitting swatches, photos. It's pretty darn believable that this was put together by 2 5th graders. Ok maybe Julie is an extra talented artist for a 5th grader, but I'm willing to buy that this is the journal of two girls.

And the story, it was HILARIOUS! Spying on the popular girls at school and attempting tasks to be like them, that usually end in disaster (bald spots, stick fighting lessons, having a boy write a poem about you show more that the whole school sings.)

This book is golden. The story is great, the illustrations are great, and together it's hilariously perfect! Anyone that has an appreciate for multimedia books, graphic type novels, or funny kid drawings would like this. And I can't stress enough that it's not just about the art, there is a great story here about 2 friends learning about themselves, and how to make new friends, and getting to know their families better.

I liked how their families were important to the story, Julie's 2 dads, and Lydia's mother and goth sister. I loved Melody (the goth sister) and how slowly it turns out she isn't as weird as the girls thought she was, don't judge a person by their appearance! And there is knitting in this book, it's like the author read my mind and put things I specifically would like into this book. I will be on the lookout for anything else she creates, you can count on that! show less

The recent trend in middle grade novels rife with interior illustrations doesn’t appear to be going away. And guess what? I’m so totally okay with it! I recently read THE POPULARITY PAPERS: RESEARCH FOR THE SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL BETTERMENT OF LYDIA GOLDBLATT & JULIE GRAHAM-CHANG, the first in an illustrated middle grade series set up as the journal of the two protagonists, Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang, 5th graders determined to figure out what makes the popular girls popular, so that they might become members of the social elite upon entering junior high.

Amy Ignatow‘s storytelling is brilliant, executing the voices of both girls with humor and grace. I loved reading their interactions within the journals, their show more little spats, their grand schemes, their adventures. The illustrations — mostly drawn by the character of Julie — are a hysterical addition.

Ignatow also manages to work in some fantastic secondary characters. Melody, Lydia’s Gothtastic older sister is a (sarcastic) hoot, Julie’s two dad’s always have something funny to add, and Norwegian immigrant and fellow 5th grader Roland leads to some serious romantic hijinks. Oh yes, each and every page of THE POPULARITY PAPERS is filled with fabulosity.

This book is perfect for the reluctant reader in your life. Any girl who’s read DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and has been wondering where the cartoon book for her is, well, here you go. show less

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-7

Plot Summary: In their last year before starting junior high, Lydia and Julie decide to chronicle the adventures they have as they observe the popular kids and try to do the same things. They write in a notebook and call their project the Learn and Improve project. The first experiment is to put a blonde streak in Lydia's hair. The hair falls out. The second thing they try is picking up a hobby because Sukie knits. They convince Julie's dad to buy them supplies, but they can't figure out how to do it from the books. The third observation is that Lydia's tryout song for the musical should be more recent and she should wear more feminine clothes to get the feminine role. Lydia ends up as a nun in the chorus for show more The Sound of Music. The fourth observation is that all of the popular girls have cell phones. They plan to make their parents wish they had a way to contact them by staying too late at a friends house and worrying their parents. Julie ends up with an old, passed down phone, but Lydia gets nothing. What will work? Should they find boys to like? What will work? What will happen when one of them gets invited to a sleepover at Gretchen's house? When one of them makes the field hockey team?

Setting: undetermined, could be any school with a field hockey team and a town that has stick fighting classes that is liberal enough to not make a big deal about Julie having two dads

Characters:
Lydia Goldblatt - blonde, doesn't have much style, writes in cursive and draws decent stick figures
Julie Graham-Chang - has two dads, wears overalls, the artist
Melody - Lydia's older sister who wears dark clothing and sulks all the time
Sukie Thomas - one of the popular girls who plays field hockey
Roland - Norwegian, has older brothers, Lydia and Julie go to his house in an attempt to make their parents worry and give them cell phones, writes a song in Norwegian about how much he likes Julie and shows it to a teacher who turns it into a song for the school concert which embarrasses Julie to no end and makes her really mad when Lydia sings the solo and spills the beans about the story behind the song to everyone
Chuck Cavelleri - older than the girls, in a stick fighting class, Lydia likes him,
Diedre Nutter - running for student council president, has Julie design her campaign posters, which gets the attention of the teachers and starts an art club
Getchen - running for student council president

Recurring Themes: popularity

Controversial Issues:
Julie has two dads

Personal Thoughts: I loved this one. I thought it was smart, funny, and well done. The illustrations are hilarious. I wish Lydia didn't write in cursive because I think it will turn off many students who are looking for a girl equivalent of Wimpy Kid. I think many boys would enjoy it knowing that they enjoyed Smile by Raina T., but I can't imagine boys would choose this one on their own.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Pacing: Medium-Fast because of the format and the girls are usually reporting on something that happened
Characters: Fonts are very different but I read so quickly sometimes I had to remind myself who was who
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity:

Readalikes: Smile show less

"The Popularity Papers" follows fifth-grade bffs, Lydia and Julie, as they navigate friendships, popularity, and their identities. The book, "written by" Julie and Lydia, chronicles their observations on the popular girls in their grade and their journey to try and become more popular themselves. As Lydia changes to fit in with the popular girls, she and Julie discover the struggles that come with popularity, crushes, evolving friendships, family dynamics, and finding their identities.
As a middle schooler, this book taught me that popularity is subjective and unimportant and that families and friendships look different to everyone. This book could be used to help students reflect on what they are going through and how it may not be that show more different from a classmate they think they don't have anything in common with. show less

I picked up this book for our genre reading project because this series has been really popular with the kids since we purchased it for the library. And now I see why! Julie and Lydia are fifth graders who are determined to be popular next year when they move up to middle school. To that end, they decide to observe all the popular girls and write about them and their attempts to emulate them. The book is printed just like it would be a notebook shared by two girls - the type is in handwriting and the text is accompanied by tons of cartoons. The story is really funny as the girls have mishap after mishap in their quest to breach the inner circle of the popular girls. I laughed out loud numerous times and I love the format.

Also worth show more mentioning is the fact that Julie has two dads and it's so not an issue.

Readalikes: This is a clear choice for kids who love those funny, cartoony, diary books like Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, etc.

I'd also suggest Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jenni Holm for its very graphic format.

As far as the story line goes, the tale of two girlfriends figuring things out reminded me a little bit of some of the books I enjoyed in my childhood: Blubber by Judy Blume, The Babysitter's Club, and P.S. Longer Letter Later by Ann M. Martin and Paula Danziger. Those might be too dated for some kids, so maybe suggest Bobby Vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee or The School Story by Andrew Clements. show less

Lydia and Julie, fifth graders who are best friends, have one big goal: to figure out how to be popular before they enter middle school. This graphic novel, set up like a scrapbook, shows the different events the two girls go through on their quest to understand popularity from sports to theater. The road to popularity proves difficult for the girls, as the activities they try draw them to new friends and further apart from each other. The book navigates the real challenges that young people face as they through the process that is growing up. The book is enjoyable and you can see the differences in the writing styles when it's Lydia writing or Julie writing. The book is almost like a female version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", as it show more addresses some of the same issues about growing up. This style of this graphic novel may help draw in reluctant readers. show less