Friday, May 24, 2019

Amy is Famous by Barbara Bottner - OPTIONAL

Amy is Famous by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Yuyi Chen. PICTURE BOOK. Imprint (Macmillan), 2019. $18. 9781250134905

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

After getting some attention from her teacher, Amy realizes that she loves the feeling and identifies herself as famous. She loves this role until another girl moves into the school who also craves the spotlight. The two work through their competition and become friends.

The focus on feeling famous seems strange and not quite relatable. Readers may enjoy the spotlight, but because of the exaggeration here, I doubt they will identify themselves with the main character. There is an interesting message here about the value of being “regular” but it is a little murky and takes too long to get to.   

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

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