Lights, Camera, Middle School! by Jennifer L. Holm

The Heffley clan has been stuck living together in Gramma’s basement for two months, waiting for the family home to be repaired, and the constant togetherness has been getting on everybody’s nerves. Budding filmmakers will be delighted to find a glossary of film terms to help them understand the narrative’s jargon.Ī smooth transition into a fresh format that should both resonate with existing fans and entice new ones. This first in a series seamlessly blends many beloved elements from the graphic novels, including large comic panels with recognizable black-and-white illustrations, with their lively prose, making for a natural evolution for its maturing audience. However, being the director is harder than Babymouse expects when things go hilariously awry, will she be able to pull the group-and ultimately herself-back together? After 20 vivaciously pink and cheerful graphic novels, the Holms have revamped their winning franchise into a hybrid of text and prose, similar to such fan favorites as Cherise Mericle Harper’s Fashion Kitty. She decides to join the film club, and when her cinematic musings bring the club together, she is named director of their upcoming project, Au Revoir, My Locker. When extracurricular activities are announced, she knows her choice is important.

Anxious to fit in and make friends, she worries over her clothes and her cafeteria social standing. Pros: Babymouse fans will cheer at the advent of a new series, and the format will allow readers to move up a notch from the graphic novels.Ĭons:Librarians will have a tough time deciding whether to shelve this with graphic novels or regular fiction.With her trademark sassy panache, Babymouse embarks on a new adventure: middle school.īabymouse has traded in her A-line heart dress for stylish new leggings and is ready for middle school. Much of this new series is a regular chapter book, but there are plenty of illustrations, as well as occasional comics.

The final screening is an unexpected hit with the middle school crowd, but when Babymouse is introduced as the director, she trips over her new dress and falls on her face as she tries to get onstage.

Backed by a remarkably supportive group of friends, Babymouse dives into the process with her usual enthusiasm, extracting herself from one embarrassing situation after another. Things start to look up, though, when she joins the Film Club and is chosen to direct the club’s first movie. Summary: Our little girl is growing up: Babymouse has started middle school, and she finds some of the universal difficulties: bad cafeteria food, mean girls, and difficulties managing her curly whiskers.

Lights, Camera, Middle School! by Jennifer L. Holm