Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg!
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From Academy Award–nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis comes the first story in a brand-new series about best friends Shai and Emmie, two third graders destined for superstardom.
Shai Williams was born to be a star (or a veterinarian—and maybe a dentist). She attends a special elementary school for the performing arts, and her grandma Rosa and aunt Mac-N-Cheese are both actresses. So Shai is shocked when she doesn’t get the lead role in the third-grade musical. Instead, the part goes to the new girl, Gabby Supreme, who thinks she is better than everyone else.
To add insult to injury, Ms. Gremillion has now asked Shai to help Gabby with the role. Shai reluctantly agrees and enlists Emmie to help, but Gabby isn’t going to make it easy. As opening night draws near, Shai discovers that making a new friend is sometimes like putting on a show—it requires dedication, patience, and lots and lots of practice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Teenage actor Wallis knows of what she writes. She sets her perky first novel (publishing simultaneously with a picture book, A Night Out with Mama) at a performing arts elementary school in Atlanta, where best friends Shai Williams and Emmie Harper are preparing to audition for the third-grade musical. Enter Gabby Supreme, a confident new student from Los Angeles, who has acted in a zombie movie and a toothpaste commercial and is trying out for the same lead role as Shai. Gabby lands the coveted role, Shai is cast as the character's mother, and she is asked to help Gabby prepare for the performance. Following her grandmother's advice to find the "courage to be nice to folks who aren't always nice to you," Shai rises to the occasion, and the novel and the musical end on upbeat notes. Miller's b&w cartoons help convey the big emotions at play, and the interactions between Shay, her friends, and her African-American family bring warmth and light humor to this series opener. Ages 6 10. Author's)
