Summary:
Sophie is in 4th grade. Her older sister is now a teenager and seems to be losing her mind. This gives Sophie the goal of never becoming a teenager. She is not going to shout about her curly hair, hate a girl in her class, or have any strong feelings about parties. She just wants to keep her life as it is. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to change. Her mother gets the opportunity to go on a business trip and is so excited that Sophie feels like her mom doesn't want to be around her anymore. She's also worried that her father can't actually take care of all of the children. He's never been that good at making meals that were actually edible. Finally, at school her friend is being invited by the popular girls to find out about "the video" that the fifth grade girls are going to watch. This "meeting" the popular girls are going to have will discuss what was seen in the video by the fifth graders. While Sophie has no interest in learning about puberty, she doesn't want to lose her friend. So, Sophie decides to find a solution. She's going to keep her family together, her friends together, and learn about the facts of life (or at least enough to quench some curiosity and not gross anyone out).
My thoughts:
I found this book highly entertaining. Sophie is an incredibly likeable character. She finds herself stuck between wanting to stay the same and finding herself changing, or those around her changing in ways she can't control. The tension between wanting to please her friends, attempting to find out about puberty without others knowing, and dealing with family aspects make this a very confusing time for Sophie. She just doesn't know what to do to make everyone happy. I especially liked the description of puberty that is given. It makes complete sense to me without being too graphic. While this book is marketed towards 4th-7th grade, I think that age range is a little bit off. I think that 3rd (with parent approval for the mature subject of puberty) to 6th grade is probably the best age range. I can't imagine that children who are in late 6th grade or older will be too into it. As a teacher, I would probably focus this true to character and encourage girls in 4th, maybe 5th grade that are interested in an easy, girly read.
Sophie is in 4th grade. Her older sister is now a teenager and seems to be losing her mind. This gives Sophie the goal of never becoming a teenager. She is not going to shout about her curly hair, hate a girl in her class, or have any strong feelings about parties. She just wants to keep her life as it is. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to change. Her mother gets the opportunity to go on a business trip and is so excited that Sophie feels like her mom doesn't want to be around her anymore. She's also worried that her father can't actually take care of all of the children. He's never been that good at making meals that were actually edible. Finally, at school her friend is being invited by the popular girls to find out about "the video" that the fifth grade girls are going to watch. This "meeting" the popular girls are going to have will discuss what was seen in the video by the fifth graders. While Sophie has no interest in learning about puberty, she doesn't want to lose her friend. So, Sophie decides to find a solution. She's going to keep her family together, her friends together, and learn about the facts of life (or at least enough to quench some curiosity and not gross anyone out).
My thoughts:
I found this book highly entertaining. Sophie is an incredibly likeable character. She finds herself stuck between wanting to stay the same and finding herself changing, or those around her changing in ways she can't control. The tension between wanting to please her friends, attempting to find out about puberty without others knowing, and dealing with family aspects make this a very confusing time for Sophie. She just doesn't know what to do to make everyone happy. I especially liked the description of puberty that is given. It makes complete sense to me without being too graphic. While this book is marketed towards 4th-7th grade, I think that age range is a little bit off. I think that 3rd (with parent approval for the mature subject of puberty) to 6th grade is probably the best age range. I can't imagine that children who are in late 6th grade or older will be too into it. As a teacher, I would probably focus this true to character and encourage girls in 4th, maybe 5th grade that are interested in an easy, girly read.
