Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley - ADVISABLE

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley 224 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Random House Graphic, 2020. $13.

Content: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

11yo Jen has moved out to a farm in the country with her mom and her mom's boyfriend Walter. Jen is in charge of the chickens and helping with their booth at the Farmers Market, but her math skills aren't great and making change is hard for her. Every weekend, Walter's daughters come. Andy is Jen's age, but she's a know-it-all and bossy. Jen didn't want to move from the city in the first place, Andy is stressing her out and Walter doesn't make the situation any easier.

 My favorite illustrations were Jen's drawings! The reader gets backstory through Jen's comics, and Jen's illustrations at the beginning and end of each chapter were sweet. Jen is talented. I didn't love that Walter wasn't called on being such a jerk - it would have been nice to have that resolved, I don't love that his behavior is excused because "that's just the way he is." I'm sure lots of kids will relate to this story, I'm grabbing a copy for my library.
Lisa Librarian

No comments: