The Popularity Papers: Book Two, by Amy Ignatow (ages 9 - 12)

Our students loved, loved, loved The Popularity Papers, by Amy Ignatow - for its humor, its illustrations and its message about friendship. And they were thrilled when I told them a sequel is coming out. So there were many excited kids when I told them that Amy Ignatow is coming to our school to talk with them about The Popularity Papers: Book Two. She's in the middle of a great book tour, so check out her schedule (see below) and see if she's coming near you.

The Popularity Papers: Book Two
The Long-Distance Dispatch between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang
by Amy Ignatow
NY: Amulet Books, 2011
ages 9 - 12
available on Amazon and at your local library

Lydia and Julie are all set for Hannibal Hamlin Junior High - they've navigated the friendships of 5th grade, figured out what activities they like, and recovered from problems in their own friendship. It's going to be a great year. But then... Lydia's mom announces that Lydia and her family are moving to London for six months. Lydia's devestated - she's going to have to get used to a whole new school, new friends, new place. And Julie's in shock, too - how is she going to make it through junior high without her best friend?

This sequel provides the same great illustrations, humor and friendship story as the first. The girls send emails, sketches and letters back and forth, and Ignatow continues to develop the voices of her characters really nicely. In this book, Julie and Lydia become even more distinct characters, as they each react to their new situations differently. This would make a great choice for a casual book club - I'd love to hear what girls think about the choices that Julie and Lydia make. One goes along and becomes friends with a bossy group of older, popular girls, while the other becomes a leader of a group she nicknames The Outcasts.

The Popularity Papers: Book Two reads best if you're familiar with the characters, so I'd definitely recommend starting with the first book. You'll understand the social nuances that Julie navigates in junior high. Perhaps Ignatow could have provided a bit more background for kids new to the series. But how much background do you put in your own diary?

Amy's tour schedule for the next month is:

• Thursday 3/24: San Carlos, CA @ The Reading Bug
• Friday 3/25: Oakland, CA @ A Great Good Place for Books
• Monday 4/11: Philadelphia, PA @ Falls of Schuylkill Library program
• Wednesday 4/13: Philadelphia, PA @ Blackwell Library program for Philadelphia Free Library Week!
• Fri - Sat 4/15-16: 2011 Southern Kentucky Book Fest
• Friday 5/6: Clinton, NJ @ Clinton Book Shop 

If you enjoy this illustrated diary format, definitely check out the Amelia books by Marissa Moss. If you have a girl wrestling with friendship issues, I highly recommend American Girl's nonfiction books about friendship: Friends: Making Them & Keeping Them and Stand Up For Yourself! For more on those, see my review here.

The review copy was kindly sent by Abrams Books. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support!

Review ©2011 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books.