Penny Draws a Best Friend
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A humorous, heartfelt, highly illustrated middle grade series about friendship, feelings, and finding your people, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sara Shepard.
Why does the cubby room always smell like farts? Who etched the words "I Am Bug Man" inside my desk? Why is Mom suddenly acting like she has a secret?
Nobody said starting fifth grade would be easy, and Penny Lowry's anxiety means a million questions are always spinning through her thoughts. Luckily she's got a lot to look forward to, like her favorite after-school activity, Art Club, and seeing her best friend Violet again after spending the whole summer apart.
The thing is, Violet has been acting weird ever since she got back. She never wants to hang out anymore, says Art Club is for babies, and spends all her time with Riley, the meanest girl in school. Did Penny do something wrong? And if she did, can she undo it?
In this hilariously sweet introduction to a lovable kid still figuring out how to manage her anxiety, the author of the #1 bestselling Pretty Little Liars series gets to the heart of how to let go of the friends who aren’t right for you . . . and how to make room for the ones who are.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As outlined in an author's note, Shepard (the Pretty Little Liars series) draws from her own childhood experience with anxiety for this diary-style illustrated novel. Rising fifth grader Penny is looking forward to her best friend Violet's return from summer gymnastics camp. But the start of school promptly reveals that Violet has moved on: she's no longer into Art Club—an activity the girls previously shared—and camp has bonded her with popular mean girl Riley. But Mrs. Hines, the "feelings teacher" Penny speaks with regularly about her worries, proves a catalyst for personal change, giving Penny a journal to work through things. As Penny encounters, and slowly befriends, other students who talk to Mrs. Hines, she directs her diary entries to her "loyal and nice" dog, Cosmo, who shares many of Penny's fears ("Storms. Fireworks. Balloons. Clowns"). In chatty, quick-moving installments, Penny tells entertaining anecdotes and details her brother's recurring croup, her concerns about social scenarios, and a secret her parents seem to be keeping. Shepard's light touch and sketchbook-style b&w doodles make for an engaging read that candidly portrays the effect of destabilizing changes on one child experiencing anxiety. Character portrayals reflect the white of the page. Ages 8–12.
